An electrophysiological investigation of emotional abnormalities in groups at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorders.

PubMed

Martin, Elizabeth A; Karcher, Nicole R; Bartholow, Bruce D; Siegle, Greg J; Kerns, John G

2017-03-01

Both extreme levels of social anhedonia (SocAnh) and perceptual aberration/magical ideation (PerMag) are associated with risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and with emotional abnormalities. Yet, the nature of any psychophysiological-measured affective abnormality, including the role of automatic/controlled processes, is unclear. We examined the late positive potential (LPP) during passive viewing (to assess automatic processing) and during cognitive reappraisal (to assess controlled processing) in three groups: SocAnh, PerMag, and controls. The SocAnh group exhibited an increased LPP when viewing negative images. Further, SocAnh exhibited greater reductions in the LPP for negative images when told to use strategies to alter negative emotion. Similar to SocAnh, PerMag exhibited an increased LPP when viewing negative images. However, PerMag also exhibited an increased LPP when viewing positive images as well as an atypical decreased LPP when increasing positive emotion. Overall, these results suggest that at-risk groups are associated with shared and unique automatic and controlled abnormalities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Content-aware dark image enhancement through channel division.

PubMed

Rivera, Adin Ramirez; Ryu, Byungyong; Chae, Oksam

2012-09-01

The current contrast enhancement algorithms occasionally result in artifacts, overenhancement, and unnatural effects in the processed images. These drawbacks increase for images taken under poor illumination conditions. In this paper, we propose a content-aware algorithm that enhances dark images, sharpens edges, reveals details in textured regions, and preserves the smoothness of flat regions. The algorithm produces an ad hoc transformation for each image, adapting the mapping functions to each image's characteristics to produce the maximum enhancement. We analyze the contrast of the image in the boundary and textured regions, and group the information with common characteristics. These groups model the relations within the image, from which we extract the transformation functions. The results are then adaptively mixed, by considering the human vision system characteristics, to boost the details in the image. Results show that the algorithm can automatically process a wide range of images-e.g., mixed shadow and bright areas, outdoor and indoor lighting, and face images-without introducing artifacts, which is an improvement over many existing methods.

A light field microscope imaging spectrometer based on the microlens array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Yu-jia; Xu, Feng; Xia, Yin-xiang

2017-10-01

A new light field spectrometry microscope imaging system, which was composed by microscope objective, microlens array and spectrometry system was designed in this paper. 5-D information (4-D light field and 1-D spectrometer) of the sample could be captured by the snapshot system in only one exposure, avoiding the motion blur and aberration caused by the scanning imaging process of the traditional imaging spectrometry. Microscope objective had been used as the former group while microlens array used as the posterior group. The optical design of the system was simulated by Zemax, the parameter matching condition between microscope objective and microlens array was discussed significantly during the simulation process. The result simulated in the image plane was analyzed and discussed.

Optical Fourier diffractometry applied to degraded bone structure recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galas, Jacek; Godwod, Krzysztof; Szawdyn, Jacek; Sawicki, Andrzej

1993-09-01

Image processing and recognition methods are useful in many fields. This paper presents the hybrid optical and digital method applied to recognition of pathological changes in bones involved by metabolic bone diseases. The trabecular bone structure, registered by x ray on the photographic film, is analyzed in the new type of computer controlled diffractometer. The set of image parameters, extracted from diffractogram, is evaluated by statistical analysis. The synthetic image descriptors in discriminant space, constructed on the base of 3 training groups of images (control, osteoporosis, and osteomalacia groups) by discriminant analysis, allow us to recognize bone samples with degraded bone structure and to recognize the disease. About 89% of the images were classified correctly. This method after optimization process will be verified in medical investigations.

Analyzing microtomography data with Python and the scikit-image library.

PubMed

Gouillart, Emmanuelle; Nunez-Iglesias, Juan; van der Walt, Stéfan

2017-01-01

The exploration and processing of images is a vital aspect of the scientific workflows of many X-ray imaging modalities. Users require tools that combine interactivity, versatility, and performance. scikit-image is an open-source image processing toolkit for the Python language that supports a large variety of file formats and is compatible with 2D and 3D images. The toolkit exposes a simple programming interface, with thematic modules grouping functions according to their purpose, such as image restoration, segmentation, and measurements. scikit-image users benefit from a rich scientific Python ecosystem that contains many powerful libraries for tasks such as visualization or machine learning. scikit-image combines a gentle learning curve, versatile image processing capabilities, and the scalable performance required for the high-throughput analysis of X-ray imaging data.

Application of a digital high-speed camera and image processing system for investigations of short-term hypersonic fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renken, Hartmut; Oelze, Holger W.; Rath, Hans J.

1998-04-01

The design and application of a digital high sped image data capturing system with a following image processing system applied to the Bremer Hochschul Hyperschallkanal BHHK is the content of this presentation. It is also the result of the cooperation between the departments aerodynamic and image processing at the ZARM-institute at the Drop Tower of Brennen. Similar systems are used by the combustion working group at ZARM and other external project partners. The BHHK, camera- and image storage system as well as the personal computer based image processing software are described next. Some examples of images taken at the BHHK are shown to illustrate the application. The new and very user-friendly Windows 32-bit system is capable to capture all camera data with a maximum pixel clock of 43 MHz and to process complete sequences of images in one step by using only one comfortable program.

Intrusive Memories of Distressing Information: An fMRI Study

PubMed Central

Battaglini, Eva; Liddell, Belinda; Das, Pritha; Malhi, Gin; Felmingham, Kim

2016-01-01

Although intrusive memories are characteristic of many psychological disorders, the neurobiological underpinning of these involuntary recollections are largely unknown. In this study we used functional magentic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the neural networks associated with encoding of negative stimuli that are subsequently experienced as intrusive memories. Healthy partipants (N = 42) viewed negative and neutral images during a visual/verbal processing task in an fMRI context. Two days later they were assessed on the Impact of Event Scale for occurrence of intrusive memories of the encoded images. A sub-group of participants who reported significant intrusions (n = 13) demonstrated stronger activation in the amygdala, bilateral ACC and parahippocampal gyrus during verbal encoding relative to a group who reported no intrusions (n = 13). Within-group analyses also revealed that the high intrusion group showed greater activity in the dorsomedial (dmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), inferior frontal gyrus and occipital regions during negative verbal processing compared to neutral verbal processing. These results do not accord with models of intrusions that emphasise visual processing of information at encoding but are consistent with models that highlight the role of inhibitory and suppression processes in the formation of subsequent intrusive memories. PMID:27685784

An automated image processing method for classification of diabetic retinopathy stages from conjunctival microvasculature images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khansari, Maziyar M.; O'Neill, William; Penn, Richard; Blair, Norman P.; Chau, Felix; Shahidi, Mahnaz

2017-03-01

The conjunctiva is a densely vascularized tissue of the eye that provides an opportunity for imaging of human microcirculation. In the current study, automated fine structure analysis of conjunctival microvasculature images was performed to discriminate stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR). The study population consisted of one group of nondiabetic control subjects (NC) and 3 groups of diabetic subjects, with no clinical DR (NDR), non-proliferative DR (NPDR), or proliferative DR (PDR). Ordinary least square regression and Fisher linear discriminant analyses were performed to automatically discriminate images between group pairs of subjects. Human observers who were masked to the grouping of subjects performed image discrimination between group pairs. Over 80% and 70% of images of subjects with clinical and non-clinical DR were correctly discriminated by the automated method, respectively. The discrimination rates of the automated method were higher than human observers. The fine structure analysis of conjunctival microvasculature images provided discrimination of DR stages and can be potentially useful for DR screening and monitoring.

Process thresholds: Report of Working Group Number 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, R. S., Jr.

1985-01-01

The Process Thresholds Working Group concerned itself with whether a geomorphic process to be monitored on satellite imagery must be global, regional, or local in its effect on the landscape. It was pointed out that major changes in types and magnitudes of processes operating in an area are needed to be detectable on a global scale. It was concluded from a review of geomorphic studies which used satellite images that they do record change in landscape over time (on a time-lapse basis) as a result of one or more processes. In fact, this may be one of the most important attributes of space imagery, in that one can document land form changes in the form of a permanent historical record. The group also discussed the important subject of the acquisition of basic data sets by different satellite imaging systems. Geomorphologists already have available one near-global basis data set resulting from the early LANDSAT program, especially images acquired by LANDSATs 1 and 2. Such historic basic data sets can serve as a benchmark for comparison with landscape changes that take place in the future. They can also serve as a benchmark for comparison with landscape changes that have occurred in the past (as recorded) by images, photography and maps.

Color transfer algorithm in medical images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weihong; Xu, Yangfa

2007-12-01

In digital virtual human project, image data acquires from the freezing slice of human body specimen. The color and brightness between a group of images of a certain organ could be quite different. The quality of these images could bring great difficulty in edge extraction, segmentation, as well as 3D reconstruction process. Thus it is necessary to unify the color of the images. The color transfer algorithm is a good algorithm to deal with this kind of problem. This paper introduces the principle of this algorithm and uses it in the medical image processing.

Processing Images of Craters for Spacecraft Navigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Yang; Johnson, Andrew E.; Matthies, Larry H.

2009-01-01

A crater-detection algorithm has been conceived to enable automation of what, heretofore, have been manual processes for utilizing images of craters on a celestial body as landmarks for navigating a spacecraft flying near or landing on that body. The images are acquired by an electronic camera aboard the spacecraft, then digitized, then processed by the algorithm, which consists mainly of the following steps: 1. Edges in an image detected and placed in a database. 2. Crater rim edges are selected from the edge database. 3. Edges that belong to the same crater are grouped together. 4. An ellipse is fitted to each group of crater edges. 5. Ellipses are refined directly in the image domain to reduce errors introduced in the detection of edges and fitting of ellipses. 6. The quality of each detected crater is evaluated. It is planned to utilize this algorithm as the basis of a computer program for automated, real-time, onboard processing of crater-image data. Experimental studies have led to the conclusion that this algorithm is capable of a detection rate >93 percent, a false-alarm rate <5 percent, a geometric error <0.5 pixel, and a position error <0.3 pixel.

New Directions in the Digital Signal Processing of Image Data.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-01

and identify by block number) FIELD GROUP SUB-GROUP Object detection and idLntification 12 01 restoration of photon noise limited imagery 15 04 image...from incomplete information, restoration of blurred images in additive and multiplicative noise , motion analysis with fast hierarchical algorithms...different resolutions. As is well known, the solution to the matched filter problem under additive white noise conditions is the correlation receiver

Smartphones as multimodal communication devices to facilitate clinical knowledge processes: randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Pimmer, Christoph; Mateescu, Magdalena; Zahn, Carmen; Genewein, Urs

2013-11-27

Despite the widespread use and advancements of mobile technology that facilitate rich communication modes, there is little evidence demonstrating the value of smartphones for effective interclinician communication and knowledge processes. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different synchronous smartphone-based modes of communication, such as (1) speech only, (2) speech and images, and (3) speech, images, and image annotation (guided noticing) on the recall and transfer of visually and verbally represented medical knowledge. The experiment was conducted from November 2011 to May 2012 at the University Hospital Basel (Switzerland) with 42 medical students in a master's program. All participants analyzed a standardized case (a patient with a subcapital fracture of the fifth metacarpal bone) based on a radiological image, photographs of the hand, and textual descriptions, and were asked to consult a remote surgical specialist via a smartphone. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 experimental conditions/groups. In group 1, the specialist provided verbal explanations (speech only). In group 2, the specialist provided verbal explanations and displayed the radiological image and the photographs to the participants (speech and images). In group 3, the specialist provided verbal explanations, displayed the radiological image and the photographs, and annotated the radiological image by drawing structures/angle elements (speech, images, and image annotation). To assess knowledge recall, participants were asked to write brief summaries of the case (verbally represented knowledge) after the consultation and to re-analyze the diagnostic images (visually represented knowledge). To assess knowledge transfer, participants analyzed a similar case without specialist support. Data analysis by ANOVA found that participants in groups 2 and 3 (images used) evaluated the support provided by the specialist as significantly more positive than group 1, the speech-only group (group 1: mean 4.08, SD 0.90; group 2: mean 4.73, SD 0.59; group 3: mean 4.93, SD 0.25; F2,39=6.76, P=.003; partial η(2)=0.26, 1-β=.90). However, significant positive effects on the recall and transfer of visually represented medical knowledge were only observed when the smartphone-based communication involved the combination of speech, images, and image annotation (group 3). There were no significant positive effects on the recall and transfer of visually represented knowledge between group 1 (speech only) and group 2 (speech and images). No significant differences were observed between the groups regarding verbally represented medical knowledge. The results show (1) the value of annotation functions for digital and mobile technology for interclinician communication and medical informatics, and (2) the use of guided noticing (the integration of speech, images, and image annotation) leads to significantly improved knowledge gains for visually represented knowledge. This is particularly valuable in situations involving complex visual subject matters, typical in clinical practice.

Smartphones as Multimodal Communication Devices to Facilitate Clinical Knowledge Processes: Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Mateescu, Magdalena; Zahn, Carmen; Genewein, Urs

2013-01-01

Background Despite the widespread use and advancements of mobile technology that facilitate rich communication modes, there is little evidence demonstrating the value of smartphones for effective interclinician communication and knowledge processes. Objective The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different synchronous smartphone-based modes of communication, such as (1) speech only, (2) speech and images, and (3) speech, images, and image annotation (guided noticing) on the recall and transfer of visually and verbally represented medical knowledge. Methods The experiment was conducted from November 2011 to May 2012 at the University Hospital Basel (Switzerland) with 42 medical students in a master’s program. All participants analyzed a standardized case (a patient with a subcapital fracture of the fifth metacarpal bone) based on a radiological image, photographs of the hand, and textual descriptions, and were asked to consult a remote surgical specialist via a smartphone. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 experimental conditions/groups. In group 1, the specialist provided verbal explanations (speech only). In group 2, the specialist provided verbal explanations and displayed the radiological image and the photographs to the participants (speech and images). In group 3, the specialist provided verbal explanations, displayed the radiological image and the photographs, and annotated the radiological image by drawing structures/angle elements (speech, images, and image annotation). To assess knowledge recall, participants were asked to write brief summaries of the case (verbally represented knowledge) after the consultation and to re-analyze the diagnostic images (visually represented knowledge). To assess knowledge transfer, participants analyzed a similar case without specialist support. Results Data analysis by ANOVA found that participants in groups 2 and 3 (images used) evaluated the support provided by the specialist as significantly more positive than group 1, the speech-only group (group 1: mean 4.08, SD 0.90; group 2: mean 4.73, SD 0.59; group 3: mean 4.93, SD 0.25; F 2,39=6.76, P=.003; partial η2=0.26, 1–β=.90). However, significant positive effects on the recall and transfer of visually represented medical knowledge were only observed when the smartphone-based communication involved the combination of speech, images, and image annotation (group 3). There were no significant positive effects on the recall and transfer of visually represented knowledge between group 1 (speech only) and group 2 (speech and images). No significant differences were observed between the groups regarding verbally represented medical knowledge. Conclusions The results show (1) the value of annotation functions for digital and mobile technology for interclinician communication and medical informatics, and (2) the use of guided noticing (the integration of speech, images, and image annotation) leads to significantly improved knowledge gains for visually represented knowledge. This is particularly valuable in situations involving complex visual subject matters, typical in clinical practice. PMID:24284080

A new full-field digital mammography system with and without the use of an advanced post-processing algorithm: comparison of image quality and diagnostic performance.

PubMed

Ahn, Hye Shin; Kim, Sun Mi; Jang, Mijung; Yun, Bo La; Kim, Bohyoung; Ko, Eun Sook; Han, Boo-Kyung; Chang, Jung Min; Yi, Ann; Cho, Nariya; Moon, Woo Kyung; Choi, Hye Young

2014-01-01

To compare new full-field digital mammography (FFDM) with and without use of an advanced post-processing algorithm to improve image quality, lesion detection, diagnostic performance, and priority rank. During a 22-month period, we prospectively enrolled 100 cases of specimen FFDM mammography (Brestige®), which was performed alone or in combination with a post-processing algorithm developed by the manufacturer: group A (SMA), specimen mammography without application of "Mammogram enhancement ver. 2.0"; group B (SMB), specimen mammography with application of "Mammogram enhancement ver. 2.0". Two sets of specimen mammographies were randomly reviewed by five experienced radiologists. Image quality, lesion detection, diagnostic performance, and priority rank with regard to image preference were evaluated. Three aspects of image quality (overall quality, contrast, and noise) of the SMB were significantly superior to those of SMA (p < 0.05). SMB was significantly superior to SMA for visualizing calcifications (p < 0.05). Diagnostic performance, as evaluated by cancer score, was similar between SMA and SMB. SMB was preferred to SMA by four of the five reviewers. The post-processing algorithm may improve image quality with better image preference in FFDM than without use of the software.

Image Processing for Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, R.; And Others

1993-01-01

The Image Processing for Teaching project provides a powerful medium to excite students about science and mathematics, especially children from minority groups and others whose needs have not been met by traditional teaching. Using professional-quality software on microcomputers, students explore a variety of scientific data sets, including…

Data mining and visualization of average images in a digital hand atlas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Aifeng; Gertych, Arkadiusz; Liu, Brent J.; Huang, H. K.

2005-04-01

We have collected a digital hand atlas containing digitized left hand radiographs of normally developed children grouped accordingly by age, sex, and race. A set of features stored in a database reflecting patient's stage of skeletal development has been calculated by automatic image processing procedures. This paper addresses a new concept, "average" image in the digital hand atlas. The "average" reference image in the digital atlas is selected for each of the groups of normal developed children with the best representative skeletal maturity based on bony features. A data mining procedure was designed and applied to find the average image through average feature vector matching. It also provides a temporary solution for the missing feature problem through polynomial regression. As more cases are added to the digital hand atlas, it can grow to provide clinicians accurate reference images to aid the bone age assessment process.

Automated processing of shoeprint images based on the Fourier transform for use in forensic science.

PubMed

de Chazal, Philip; Flynn, John; Reilly, Richard B

2005-03-01

The development of a system for automatically sorting a database of shoeprint images based on the outsole pattern in response to a reference shoeprint image is presented. The database images are sorted so that those from the same pattern group as the reference shoeprint are likely to be at the start of the list. A database of 476 complete shoeprint images belonging to 140 pattern groups was established with each group containing two or more examples. A panel of human observers performed the grouping of the images into pattern categories. Tests of the system using the database showed that the first-ranked database image belongs to the same pattern category as the reference image 65 percent of the time and that a correct match appears within the first 5 percent of the sorted images 87 percent of the time. The system has translational and rotational invariance so that the spatial positioning of the reference shoeprint images does not have to correspond with the spatial positioning of the shoeprint images of the database. The performance of the system for matching partial-prints was also determined.

High performance thermal imaging for the 21st century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarke, David J.; Knowles, Peter

2003-01-01

In recent years IR detector technology has developed from early short linear arrays. Such devices require high performance signal processing electronics to meet today's thermal imaging requirements for military and para-military applications. This paper describes BAE SYSTEMS Avionics Group's Sensor Integrated Modular Architecture thermal imager which has been developed alongside the group's Eagle 640×512 arrays to provide high performance imaging capability. The electronics architecture also supprots High Definition TV format 2D arrays for future growth capability.

Half-unit weighted bilinear algorithm for image contrast enhancement in capsule endoscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rukundo, Olivier

2018-04-01

This paper proposes a novel enhancement method based exclusively on the bilinear interpolation algorithm for capsule endoscopy images. The proposed method does not convert the original RBG image components to HSV or any other color space or model; instead, it processes directly RGB components. In each component, a group of four adjacent pixels and half-unit weight in the bilinear weighting function are used to calculate the average pixel value, identical for each pixel in that particular group. After calculations, groups of identical pixels are overlapped successively in horizontal and vertical directions to achieve a preliminary-enhanced image. The final-enhanced image is achieved by halving the sum of the original and preliminary-enhanced image pixels. Quantitative and qualitative experiments were conducted focusing on pairwise comparisons between original and enhanced images. Final-enhanced images have generally the best diagnostic quality and gave more details about the visibility of vessels and structures in capsule endoscopy images.

Polarization-singular processing of biological layers laser images to diagnose and classify their optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ushenko, Yu. O.; Telenga, O. Y.

2011-09-01

Presented in this work are the results of investigation aimed at analysis of coordinate distributions for azimuths and ellipticity of polarization (polarization maps) in blood plasma layers laser images of three groups of patients: healthy (group 1), with dysplasia (group 2) and cancer of cervix uteri (group 3). To characterize polarization maps for all groups of samples, the authors have offered to use three groups of parameters: statistical moments of the first to the fourth orders, autocorrelation functions, logarithmic dependences for power spectra related to distributions of azimuths and ellipticity of polarization inherent to blood plasma laser images. Ascertained are the criteria for diagnostics and differentiation of cervix uteri pathological changes.

Analysis of ROC on chest direct digital radiography (DR) after image processing in diagnosis of SARS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Guozheng; Lan, Rihui; Zeng, Qingsi; Zheng, Zhong

2004-05-01

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS, also called Infectious Atypical Pneumonia), which initially broke out in late 2002, has threatened the public"s health seriously. How to confirm the patients contracting SARS becomes an urgent issue in diagnosis. This paper intends to evaluate the importance of Image Processing in the diagnosis on SARS at the early stage. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis has been employed in this study to compare the value of DR images in the diagnosis of SARS patients before and after image processing by Symphony Software supplied by E-Com Technology Ltd., and DR image study of 72 confirmed or suspected SARS patients were reviewed respectively. All the images taken from the studied patients were processed by Symphony. Both the original and processed images were taken into ROC analysis, based on which the ROC graph for each group of images has been produced as described below: For processed images: a = 1.9745, b = 1.4275, SA = 0.8714; For original images: a = 0.9066, b = 0.8310, SA = 0.7572; (a - intercept, b - slop, SA - Area below the curve). The result shows significant difference between the original images and processed images (P<0.01). In summary, the images processed by Symphony are superior to the original ones in detecting the opacity lesion, and increases the accuracy of SARS diagnosis.

Clinical image processing engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Wei; Yao, Jianhua; Chen, Jeremy; Summers, Ronald

2009-02-01

Our group provides clinical image processing services to various institutes at NIH. We develop or adapt image processing programs for a variety of applications. However, each program requires a human operator to select a specific set of images and execute the program, as well as store the results appropriately for later use. To improve efficiency, we design a parallelized clinical image processing engine (CIPE) to streamline and parallelize our service. The engine takes DICOM images from a PACS server, sorts and distributes the images to different applications, multithreads the execution of applications, and collects results from the applications. The engine consists of four modules: a listener, a router, a job manager and a data manager. A template filter in XML format is defined to specify the image specification for each application. A MySQL database is created to store and manage the incoming DICOM images and application results. The engine achieves two important goals: reduce the amount of time and manpower required to process medical images, and reduce the turnaround time for responding. We tested our engine on three different applications with 12 datasets and demonstrated that the engine improved the efficiency dramatically.

Symmetrical group theory for mathematical complexity reduction of digital holograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Ramirez, A.; Guerrero-Juk, J.; Sanchez-Lara, R.; Perez-Ramirez, M.; Rodriguez-Blanco, M. A.; May-Alarcon, M.

2017-10-01

This work presents the use of mathematical group theory through an algorithm to reduce the multiplicative computational complexity in the process of creating digital holograms. An object is considered as a set of point sources using mathematical symmetry properties of both the core in the Fresnel integral and the image, where the image is modeled using group theory. This algorithm has multiplicative complexity equal to zero and an additive complexity ( k - 1) × N for the case of sparse matrices and binary images, where k is the number of pixels other than zero and N is the total points in the image.

Pupillary Response to Negative Emotional Stimuli Is Differentially Affected in Meditation Practitioners

PubMed Central

Vasquez-Rosati, Alejandra; Brunetti, Enzo P.; Cordero, Carmen; Maldonado, Pedro E.

2017-01-01

Clinically, meditative practices have become increasingly relevant, decreasing anxiety in patients and increasing antibody production. However, few studies have examined the physiological correlates, or effects of the incorporation of meditative practices. Because pupillary reactivity is a marker for autonomic changes and emotional processing, we hypothesized that the pupillary responses of mindfulness meditation practitioners (MP) and subjects without such practices (non-meditators (NM)) differ, reflecting different emotional processing. In a group of 11 MP and 9 NM, we recorded the pupil diameter using video-oculography while subjects explored images with emotional contents. Although both groups showed a similar pupillary response for positive and neutral images, negative images evoked a greater pupillary contraction and a weaker dilation in the MP group. Also, this group had faster physiological recovery to baseline levels. These results suggest that mindfulness meditation practices modulate the response of the autonomic nervous system, reflected in the pupillary response to negative images and faster physiological recovery to baseline levels, suggesting that pupillometry could be used to assess the potential health benefits of these practices in patients. PMID:28515685

A Versatile Image Processor For Digital Diagnostic Imaging And Its Application In Computed Radiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blume, H.; Alexandru, R.; Applegate, R.; Giordano, T.; Kamiya, K.; Kresina, R.

1986-06-01

In a digital diagnostic imaging department, the majority of operations for handling and processing of images can be grouped into a small set of basic operations, such as image data buffering and storage, image processing and analysis, image display, image data transmission and image data compression. These operations occur in almost all nodes of the diagnostic imaging communications network of the department. An image processor architecture was developed in which each of these functions has been mapped into hardware and software modules. The modular approach has advantages in terms of economics, service, expandability and upgradeability. The architectural design is based on the principles of hierarchical functionality, distributed and parallel processing and aims at real time response. Parallel processing and real time response is facilitated in part by a dual bus system: a VME control bus and a high speed image data bus, consisting of 8 independent parallel 16-bit busses, capable of handling combined up to 144 MBytes/sec. The presented image processor is versatile enough to meet the video rate processing needs of digital subtraction angiography, the large pixel matrix processing requirements of static projection radiography, or the broad range of manipulation and display needs of a multi-modality diagnostic work station. Several hardware modules are described in detail. For illustrating the capabilities of the image processor, processed 2000 x 2000 pixel computed radiographs are shown and estimated computation times for executing the processing opera-tions are presented.

Single image interpolation via adaptive nonlocal sparsity-based modeling.

PubMed

Romano, Yaniv; Protter, Matan; Elad, Michael

2014-07-01

Single image interpolation is a central and extensively studied problem in image processing. A common approach toward the treatment of this problem in recent years is to divide the given image into overlapping patches and process each of them based on a model for natural image patches. Adaptive sparse representation modeling is one such promising image prior, which has been shown to be powerful in filling-in missing pixels in an image. Another force that such algorithms may use is the self-similarity that exists within natural images. Processing groups of related patches together exploits their correspondence, leading often times to improved results. In this paper, we propose a novel image interpolation method, which combines these two forces-nonlocal self-similarities and sparse representation modeling. The proposed method is contrasted with competitive and related algorithms, and demonstrated to achieve state-of-the-art results.

Activation in mesolimbic and visuospatial neural circuits elicited by smoking cues: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Due, Deborah L; Huettel, Scott A; Hall, Warren G; Rubin, David C

2002-06-01

The authors sought to increase understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in cigarette addiction by identifying neural substrates modulated by visual smoking cues in nicotine-deprived smokers. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to detect brain activation after exposure to smoking-related images in a group of nicotine-deprived smokers and a nonsmoking comparison group. Subjects viewed a pseudo-random sequence of smoking images, neutral nonsmoking images, and rare targets (photographs of animals). Subjects pressed a button whenever a rare target appeared. In smokers, the fMRI signal was greater after exposure to smoking-related images than after exposure to neutral images in mesolimbic dopamine reward circuits known to be activated by addictive drugs (right posterior amygdala, posterior hippocampus, ventral tegmental area, and medial thalamus) as well as in areas related to visuospatial attention (bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortex and right fusiform gyrus). In nonsmokers, no significant differences in fMRI signal following exposure to smoking-related and neutral images were detected. In most regions studied, both subject groups showed greater activation following presentation of rare target images than after exposure to neutral images. In nicotine-deprived smokers, both reward and attention circuits were activated by exposure to smoking-related images. Smoking cues are processed like rare targets in that they activate attentional regions. These cues are also processed like addictive drugs in that they activate mesolimbic reward regions.

MOPEX: a software package for astronomical image processing and visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makovoz, David; Roby, Trey; Khan, Iffat; Booth, Hartley

2006-06-01

We present MOPEX - a software package for astronomical image processing and display. The package is a combination of command-line driven image processing software written in C/C++ with a Java-based GUI. The main image processing capabilities include creating mosaic images, image registration, background matching, point source extraction, as well as a number of minor image processing tasks. The combination of the image processing and display capabilities allows for much more intuitive and efficient way of performing image processing. The GUI allows for the control over the image processing and display to be closely intertwined. Parameter setting, validation, and specific processing options are entered by the user through a set of intuitive dialog boxes. Visualization feeds back into further processing by providing a prompt feedback of the processing results. The GUI also allows for further analysis by accessing and displaying data from existing image and catalog servers using a virtual observatory approach. Even though originally designed for the Spitzer Space Telescope mission, a lot of functionalities are of general usefulness and can be used for working with existing astronomical data and for new missions. The software used in the package has undergone intensive testing and benefited greatly from effective software reuse. The visualization part has been used for observation planning for both the Spitzer and Herschel Space Telescopes as part the tool Spot. The visualization capabilities of Spot have been enhanced and integrated with the image processing functionality of the command-line driven MOPEX. The image processing software is used in the Spitzer automated pipeline processing, which has been in operation for nearly 3 years. The image processing capabilities have also been tested in off-line processing by numerous astronomers at various institutions around the world. The package is multi-platform and includes automatic update capabilities. The software package has been developed by a small group of software developers and scientists at the Spitzer Science Center. It is available for distribution at the Spitzer Science Center web page.

PI2GIS: processing image to geographical information systems, a learning tool for QGIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correia, R.; Teodoro, A.; Duarte, L.

2017-10-01

To perform an accurate interpretation of remote sensing images, it is necessary to extract information using different image processing techniques. Nowadays, it became usual to use image processing plugins to add new capabilities/functionalities integrated in Geographical Information System (GIS) software. The aim of this work was to develop an open source application to automatically process and classify remote sensing images from a set of satellite input data. The application was integrated in a GIS software (QGIS), automating several image processing steps. The use of QGIS for this purpose is justified since it is easy and quick to develop new plugins, using Python language. This plugin is inspired in the Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin (SCP) developed by Luca Congedo. SCP allows the supervised classification of remote sensing images, the calculation of vegetation indices such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) and other image processing operations. When analysing SCP, it was realized that a set of operations, that are very useful in teaching classes of remote sensing and image processing tasks, were lacking, such as the visualization of histograms, the application of filters, different image corrections, unsupervised classification and several environmental indices computation. The new set of operations included in the PI2GIS plugin can be divided into three groups: pre-processing, processing, and classification procedures. The application was tested consider an image from Landsat 8 OLI from a North area of Portugal.

Social process and the assessment of a new imaging technique.

PubMed

Blume, S S

1993-01-01

Each group involved in the development of a new medical technology constantly assesses the value of the emergent technique in terms of the group's own specific goals and conventions. The history of infrared thermography demonstrates the social nature of this assessment process.

Comparative Evaluation of the Ostium After External and Nonendoscopic Endonasal Dacryocystorhinostomy Using Image Processing (Matlabs and Image J) Softwares.

PubMed

Ganguly, Anasua; Kaza, Hrishikesh; Kapoor, Aditya; Sheth, Jenil; Ali, Mohammad Hasnat; Tripathy, Devjyoti; Rath, Suryasnata

The purpose of this study was to compare the characteristics of the ostium after external dacryocystorhinostomy and nonendoscopic endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy (NEN-DCR). This cross-sectional study included patients who underwent a successful external dacryocystorhinostomy or NEN-DCR and had ≥1 month follow up. Pictures of the ostium were captured with a nasal endoscope (4 mm, 30°) after inserting a lacrimal probe premarked at 2 mm. Image analyses were performed using Image J and Contour softwares. Of the 113 patients included, external dacryocystorhinostomy group had 53 patients and NEN-DCR group had 60 patients. The mean age of patients in the NEN-DCR group (38 years) was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the external dacryocystorhinostomy group (50 years). There was no statistically significant difference (2 sample t test, p > 0.05) in mean follow up (6 vs. 4 months), maximum diameter of ostium (8 vs. 7 mm), perpendicular drawn to it (4 vs. 4 mm), area of ostium (43 vs. 36 mm), and the minimum distance between common internal punctum and edge of the ostium (1 vs. 1 mm) between the external and NEN-DCR groups. Image processing softwares offer simple and objective method to measure the ostium. While ostia are comparable in size, their relative position differs with posteriorly placed ostia in external compared with inferior in NEN-DCR.

Group-sparse representation with dictionary learning for medical image denoising and fusion.

PubMed

Li, Shutao; Yin, Haitao; Fang, Leyuan

2012-12-01

Recently, sparse representation has attracted a lot of interest in various areas. However, the standard sparse representation does not consider the intrinsic structure, i.e., the nonzero elements occur in clusters, called group sparsity. Furthermore, there is no dictionary learning method for group sparse representation considering the geometrical structure of space spanned by atoms. In this paper, we propose a novel dictionary learning method, called Dictionary Learning with Group Sparsity and Graph Regularization (DL-GSGR). First, the geometrical structure of atoms is modeled as the graph regularization. Then, combining group sparsity and graph regularization, the DL-GSGR is presented, which is solved by alternating the group sparse coding and dictionary updating. In this way, the group coherence of learned dictionary can be enforced small enough such that any signal can be group sparse coded effectively. Finally, group sparse representation with DL-GSGR is applied to 3-D medical image denoising and image fusion. Specifically, in 3-D medical image denoising, a 3-D processing mechanism (using the similarity among nearby slices) and temporal regularization (to perverse the correlations across nearby slices) are exploited. The experimental results on 3-D image denoising and image fusion demonstrate the superiority of our proposed denoising and fusion approaches.

Radiologists' preferences for digital mammographic display. The International Digital Mammography Development Group.

PubMed

Pisano, E D; Cole, E B; Major, S; Zong, S; Hemminger, B M; Muller, K E; Johnston, R E; Walsh, R; Conant, E; Fajardo, L L; Feig, S A; Nishikawa, R M; Yaffe, M J; Williams, M B; Aylward, S R

2000-09-01

To determine the preferences of radiologists among eight different image processing algorithms applied to digital mammograms obtained for screening and diagnostic imaging tasks. Twenty-eight images representing histologically proved masses or calcifications were obtained by using three clinically available digital mammographic units. Images were processed and printed on film by using manual intensity windowing, histogram-based intensity windowing, mixture model intensity windowing, peripheral equalization, multiscale image contrast amplification (MUSICA), contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization, Trex processing, and unsharp masking. Twelve radiologists compared the processed digital images with screen-film mammograms obtained in the same patient for breast cancer screening and breast lesion diagnosis. For the screening task, screen-film mammograms were preferred to all digital presentations, but the acceptability of images processed with Trex and MUSICA algorithms were not significantly different. All printed digital images were preferred to screen-film radiographs in the diagnosis of masses; mammograms processed with unsharp masking were significantly preferred. For the diagnosis of calcifications, no processed digital mammogram was preferred to screen-film mammograms. When digital mammograms were preferred to screen-film mammograms, radiologists selected different digital processing algorithms for each of three mammographic reading tasks and for different lesion types. Soft-copy display will eventually allow radiologists to select among these options more easily.

The impact of verbal framing on brain activity evoked by emotional images.

PubMed

Kisley, Michael A; Campbell, Alana M; Larson, Jenna M; Naftz, Andrea E; Regnier, Jesse T; Davalos, Deana B

2011-12-01

Emotional stimuli generally command more brain processing resources than non-emotional stimuli, but the magnitude of this effect is subject to voluntary control. Cognitive reappraisal represents one type of emotion regulation that can be voluntarily employed to modulate responses to emotional stimuli. Here, the late positive potential (LPP), a specific event-related brain potential (ERP) component, was measured in response to neutral, positive and negative images while participants performed an evaluative categorization task. One experimental group adopted a "negative frame" in which images were categorized as negative or not. The other adopted a "positive frame" in which the exact same images were categorized as positive or not. Behavioral performance confirmed compliance with random group assignment, and peak LPP amplitude to negative images was affected by group membership: brain responses to negative images were significantly reduced in the "positive frame" group. This suggests that adopting a more positive appraisal frame can modulate brain activity elicited by negative stimuli in the environment.

Some new classification methods for hyperspectral remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Pei-jun; Chen, Yun-hao; Jones, Simon; Ferwerda, Jelle G.; Chen, Zhi-jun; Zhang, Hua-peng; Tan, Kun; Yin, Zuo-xia

2006-10-01

Hyperspectral Remote Sensing (HRS) is one of the most significant recent achievements of Earth Observation Technology. Classification is the most commonly employed processing methodology. In this paper three new hyperspectral RS image classification methods are analyzed. These methods are: Object-oriented FIRS image classification, HRS image classification based on information fusion and HSRS image classification by Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN). OMIS FIRS image is used as the example data. Object-oriented techniques have gained popularity for RS image classification in recent years. In such method, image segmentation is used to extract the regions from the pixel information based on homogeneity criteria at first, and spectral parameters like mean vector, texture, NDVI and spatial/shape parameters like aspect ratio, convexity, solidity, roundness and orientation for each region are calculated, finally classification of the image using the region feature vectors and also using suitable classifiers such as artificial neural network (ANN). It proves that object-oriented methods can improve classification accuracy since they utilize information and features both from the point and the neighborhood, and the processing unit is a polygon (in which all pixels are homogeneous and belong to the class). HRS image classification based on information fusion, divides all bands of the image into different groups initially, and extracts features from every group according to the properties of each group. Three levels of information fusion: data level fusion, feature level fusion and decision level fusion are used to HRS image classification. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) can perform well in RS image classification. In order to promote the advances of ANN used for HIRS image classification, Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN), the most commonly used neural network, is used to HRS image classification.

Brain Activation during Semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorders via Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Gordon J.; Chabris, Christopher F.; Clark, Jill; Urban, Trinity; Aharon, Itzhak; Steele, Shelley; McGrath, Lauren; Condouris, Karen; Tager-Flusberg, Helen

2006-01-01

Language and communication deficits are core features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), even in high-functioning adults with ASD. This study investigated brain activation patterns using functional magnetic resonance imaging in right-handed adult males with ASD and a control group, matched on age, handedness, and verbal IQ. Semantic processing in…

Development of Embodied Word Meanings: Sensorimotor Effects in Children's Lexical Processing.

PubMed

Inkster, Michelle; Wellsby, Michele; Lloyd, Ellen; Pexman, Penny M

2016-01-01

Previous research showed an effect of words' rated body-object interaction (BOI) in children's visual word naming performance, but only in children 8 years of age or older (Wellsby and Pexman, 2014a). In that study, however, BOI was established using adult ratings. Here we collected ratings from a group of parents for children's BOI experience (child-BOI). We examined effects of words' child-BOI and also words' imageability on children's responses in an auditory word naming task, which is suited to the lexical processing skills of younger children. We tested a group of 54 children aged 6-7 years and a comparison group of 25 adults. Results showed significant effects of both imageability and child-BOI on children's auditory naming latencies. These results provide evidence that children younger than 8 years of age have richer semantic representations for high imageability and high child-BOI words, consistent with an embodied account of word meaning.

Ongoing quality control in digital radiography: Report of AAPM Imaging Physics Committee Task Group 151.

PubMed

Jones, A Kyle; Heintz, Philip; Geiser, William; Goldman, Lee; Jerjian, Khachig; Martin, Melissa; Peck, Donald; Pfeiffer, Douglas; Ranger, Nicole; Yorkston, John

2015-11-01

Quality control (QC) in medical imaging is an ongoing process and not just a series of infrequent evaluations of medical imaging equipment. The QC process involves designing and implementing a QC program, collecting and analyzing data, investigating results that are outside the acceptance levels for the QC program, and taking corrective action to bring these results back to an acceptable level. The QC process involves key personnel in the imaging department, including the radiologist, radiologic technologist, and the qualified medical physicist (QMP). The QMP performs detailed equipment evaluations and helps with oversight of the QC program, the radiologic technologist is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the QC program. The continued need for ongoing QC in digital radiography has been highlighted in the scientific literature. The charge of this task group was to recommend consistency tests designed to be performed by a medical physicist or a radiologic technologist under the direction of a medical physicist to identify problems with an imaging system that need further evaluation by a medical physicist, including a fault tree to define actions that need to be taken when certain fault conditions are identified. The focus of this final report is the ongoing QC process, including rejected image analysis, exposure analysis, and artifact identification. These QC tasks are vital for the optimal operation of a department performing digital radiography.

Ongoing quality control in digital radiography: Report of AAPM Imaging Physics Committee Task Group 151

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

Jones, A. Kyle, E-mail: kyle.jones@mdanderson.org; Geiser, William; Heintz, Philip

Quality control (QC) in medical imaging is an ongoing process and not just a series of infrequent evaluations of medical imaging equipment. The QC process involves designing and implementing a QC program, collecting and analyzing data, investigating results that are outside the acceptance levels for the QC program, and taking corrective action to bring these results back to an acceptable level. The QC process involves key personnel in the imaging department, including the radiologist, radiologic technologist, and the qualified medical physicist (QMP). The QMP performs detailed equipment evaluations and helps with oversight of the QC program, the radiologic technologist ismore » responsible for the day-to-day operation of the QC program. The continued need for ongoing QC in digital radiography has been highlighted in the scientific literature. The charge of this task group was to recommend consistency tests designed to be performed by a medical physicist or a radiologic technologist under the direction of a medical physicist to identify problems with an imaging system that need further evaluation by a medical physicist, including a fault tree to define actions that need to be taken when certain fault conditions are identified. The focus of this final report is the ongoing QC process, including rejected image analysis, exposure analysis, and artifact identification. These QC tasks are vital for the optimal operation of a department performing digital radiography.« less

Effect of Experience of Use on The Process of Formation of Stereotype Images on Shapes of Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwak, Yong-Min; Yamanaka, Toshimasa

It is necessary to explain the terms used in this research to help the readers better understand the contents of this research. Originally stereotype meant the lead plate cast from a mold of letterpress printing, but now it is used as a term indicating a simplified and fixed notion toward certain group “Knowledge in fixed form” or a term indicating an image simplified and generalized over the members of certain group.[1] Generally, stereotype is used in negative cases, but has both sides of positive and negative view.[2, 3] I believe that a research on the factors of forming stereotype[4] images commonly felt by a large number of persons may suggest a new research methodology for the areas which require high level of creative thinking such as areas of design and researches on emotions. Stereotype images appear between persons, groups and images of countries, enterprises and other organizations. For example, as we usually hear words saying ‘He maybe oo because he is from oo’, we have strong images of characteristics commonly held by the persons who belong to certain categories after tying regions and persons to dividing categories.[5, 6] In this research, I define such images as the stereotype images. This kind of phenomenon appears for the articles used in daily lives. In this research, I established a hypothesis that stereotype images exist for products and underwent the process of verification through experiments.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Chronically Impairs Sleep- and Wake-Dependent Emotional Processing.

PubMed

Mantua, Janna; Henry, Owen S; Garskovas, Nolan F; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2017-06-01

A single traumatic brain injury (TBI), even when mild (ie, concussion), can cause lasting consequences. Individuals with a history of chronic (>1-year prior) mild TBI have an increased risk of mood disturbances (eg, depression, suicide). This population also has lingering sleep alterations, including poor sleep quality and changes in sleep stage proportions. Given these sleep deficits, we aimed to test whether sleep-dependent emotional memory consolidation is reduced in this population. We utilized a mild TBI group (3.7 ± 2.9 years post injury) and an uninjured (non-TBI) population. Participants viewed negative and neutral images both before and after a 12-hour period containing sleep ("Sleep" group) or an equivalent period of time spent awake ("Wake" group). Participants rated images for valence/arousal at both sessions, and memory recognition was tested at session two. The TBI group had less rapid eye movement (REM), longer REM latency, and more sleep complaints. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation of nonemotional images was present in all participants. However, consolidation of negative images was only present in the non-TBI group. A lack of differentiation between the TBI Sleep and Wake groups was due to poor performance in the sleep group and, unexpectedly, enhanced performance in the wake group. Additionally, although the non-TBI participants habituated to negative images over a waking period, the TBI participants did not. We propose disrupted sleep- and wake-dependent emotional processing contributes to poor emotional outcomes following chronic, mild TBI. This work has broad implications, as roughly one-third of the US population will sustain a mild TBI during their lifetime. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Chronically Impairs Sleep- and Wake-Dependent Emotional Processing

PubMed Central

Mantua, Janna; Henry, Owen S.; Garskovas, Nolan F.

2017-01-01

Abstract Study Objectives: A single traumatic brain injury (TBI), even when mild (ie, concussion), can cause lasting consequences. Individuals with a history of chronic (>1-year prior) mild TBI have an increased risk of mood disturbances (eg, depression, suicide). This population also has lingering sleep alterations, including poor sleep quality and changes in sleep stage proportions. Given these sleep deficits, we aimed to test whether sleep-dependent emotional memory consolidation is reduced in this population. We utilized a mild TBI group (3.7 ± 2.9 years post injury) and an uninjured (non-TBI) population. Methods: Participants viewed negative and neutral images both before and after a 12-hour period containing sleep (“Sleep” group) or an equivalent period of time spent awake (“Wake” group). Participants rated images for valence/arousal at both sessions, and memory recognition was tested at session two. Results: The TBI group had less rapid eye movement (REM), longer REM latency, and more sleep complaints. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation of nonemotional images was present in all participants. However, consolidation of negative images was only present in the non-TBI group. A lack of differentiation between the TBI Sleep and Wake groups was due to poor performance in the sleep group and, unexpectedly, enhanced performance in the wake group. Additionally, although the non-TBI participants habituated to negative images over a waking period, the TBI participants did not. Conclusions: We propose disrupted sleep- and wake-dependent emotional processing contributes to poor emotional outcomes following chronic, mild TBI. This work has broad implications, as roughly one-third of the US population will sustain a mild TBI during their lifetime. PMID:28460124

Exploring the Image Types of Secondary School Students' Perception about the Talented Person in Convergence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jun-Ki; Chung, Duk Ho

2014-05-01

This study aims to identify the image types of secondary school students' perception about the talented person in convergence and to find the differences in drawing images of the talented person in convergence among the students who have taken STEAM class and the ones who haven't. One hundred and eighty seven students in middle and high schools located in the southern part of South Korea participated in this study and they were asked to draw a picture of the talented person in convergence with a brief explanation. Based on students' pictures, researchers categorized their perception about convergence and talented person in convergence by using an inductive method. The result indicated that secondary school students' perceptions were categorized into convergence as individual cognitive processing and collective cognitive processing and convergence as outcomes. The image of the convergence in a talented person leaning toward individual cognitive processing was divided into the following seven types: idea banker type, various talented celebrity type, multi-tasking master type, multi-talented career type, active problem-solver type, creative developer type, and unrealistic ideal man type. Another image of collective cognitive processing was split into expert group type and interactive-mates group type. The other image was transformer type which is the subcategory of convergence as outcomes. From this study, it can be suggested that secondary school students express the various images of the talented person in convergence depending on experiencing STEAM or not. Keywords: talented person in convergence, secondary school students, STEAM, image types

Adaptive marginal median filter for colour images.

PubMed

Morillas, Samuel; Gregori, Valentín; Sapena, Almanzor

2011-01-01

This paper describes a new filter for impulse noise reduction in colour images which is aimed at improving the noise reduction capability of the classical vector median filter. The filter is inspired by the application of a vector marginal median filtering process over a selected group of pixels in each filtering window. This selection, which is based on the vector median, along with the application of the marginal median operation constitutes an adaptive process that leads to a more robust filter design. Also, the proposed method is able to process colour images without introducing colour artifacts. Experimental results show that the images filtered with the proposed method contain less noisy pixels than those obtained through the vector median filter.

Production of Previews and Advanced Data Products for the ESO Science Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rité, C.; Slijkhuis, R.; Rosati, P.; Delmotte, N.; Rino, B.; Chéreau, F.; Malapert, J.-C.

2008-08-01

We present a project being carried out by the Virtual Observatory Systems Department/Advanced Data Products group in order to populate the ESO Science Archive Facility with image previews and advanced data products. The main goal is to provide users of the ESO Science Archive Facility with the possibility of viewing pre-processed images associated with instruments like WFI, ISAAC and SOFI before actually retrieving the data for full processing. The image processing is done by using the ESO/MVM image reduction software developed at ESO, to produce astrometrically calibrated FITS images, ranging from simple previews of single archive images, to fully stacked mosaics. These data products can be accessed via the ESO Science Archive Query Form and also be viewed with the browser VirGO {http://archive.eso.org/cms/virgo}.

Super-pixel extraction based on multi-channel pulse coupled neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, GuangZhu; Hu, Song; Zhang, Liu; Zhao, JingJing; Fu, YunXia; Lei, BangJun

2018-04-01

Super-pixel extraction techniques group pixels to form over-segmented image blocks according to the similarity among pixels. Compared with the traditional pixel-based methods, the image descripting method based on super-pixel has advantages of less calculation, being easy to perceive, and has been widely used in image processing and computer vision applications. Pulse coupled neural network (PCNN) is a biologically inspired model, which stems from the phenomenon of synchronous pulse release in the visual cortex of cats. Each PCNN neuron can correspond to a pixel of an input image, and the dynamic firing pattern of each neuron contains both the pixel feature information and its context spatial structural information. In this paper, a new color super-pixel extraction algorithm based on multi-channel pulse coupled neural network (MPCNN) was proposed. The algorithm adopted the block dividing idea of SLIC algorithm, and the image was divided into blocks with same size first. Then, for each image block, the adjacent pixels of each seed with similar color were classified as a group, named a super-pixel. At last, post-processing was adopted for those pixels or pixel blocks which had not been grouped. Experiments show that the proposed method can adjust the number of superpixel and segmentation precision by setting parameters, and has good potential for super-pixel extraction.

TU-B-19A-01: Image Registration II: TG132-Quality Assurance for Image Registration

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

Brock, K; Mutic, S

2014-06-15

AAPM Task Group 132 was charged with a review of the current approaches and solutions for image registration in radiotherapy and to provide recommendations for quality assurance and quality control of these clinical processes. As the results of image registration are always used as the input of another process for planning or delivery, it is important for the user to understand and document the uncertainty associate with the algorithm in general and the Result of a specific registration. The recommendations of this task group, which at the time of abstract submission are currently being reviewed by the AAPM, include themore » following components. The user should understand the basic image registration techniques and methods of visualizing image fusion. The disclosure of basic components of the image registration by commercial vendors is critical in this respect. The physicists should perform end-to-end tests of imaging, registration, and planning/treatment systems if image registration is performed on a stand-alone system. A comprehensive commissioning process should be performed and documented by the physicist prior to clinical use of the system. As documentation is important to the safe implementation of this process, a request and report system should be integrated into the clinical workflow. Finally, a patient specific QA practice should be established for efficient evaluation of image registration results. The implementation of these recommendations will be described and illustrated during this educational session. Learning Objectives: Highlight the importance of understanding the image registration techniques used in their clinic. Describe the end-to-end tests needed for stand-alone registration systems. Illustrate a comprehensive commissioning program using both phantom data and clinical images. Describe a request and report system to ensure communication and documentation. Demonstrate an clinically-efficient patient QA practice for efficient evaluation of image registration.« less

Perceived visual speed constrained by image segmentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verghese, P.; Stone, L. S.

1996-01-01

Little is known about how or where the visual system parses the visual scene into objects or surfaces. However, it is generally assumed that the segmentation and grouping of pieces of the image into discrete entities is due to 'later' processing stages, after the 'early' processing of the visual image by local mechanisms selective for attributes such as colour, orientation, depth, and motion. Speed perception is also thought to be mediated by early mechanisms tuned for speed. Here we show that manipulating the way in which an image is parsed changes the way in which local speed information is processed. Manipulations that cause multiple stimuli to appear as parts of a single patch degrade speed discrimination, whereas manipulations that perceptually divide a single large stimulus into parts improve discrimination. These results indicate that processes as early as speed perception may be constrained by the parsing of the visual image into discrete entities.

Magnetoencephalographic Imaging of Auditory and Somatosensory Cortical Responses in Children with Autism and Sensory Processing Dysfunction

PubMed Central

Demopoulos, Carly; Yu, Nina; Tripp, Jennifer; Mota, Nayara; Brandes-Aitken, Anne N.; Desai, Shivani S.; Hill, Susanna S.; Antovich, Ashley D.; Harris, Julia; Honma, Susanne; Mizuiri, Danielle; Nagarajan, Srikantan S.; Marco, Elysa J.

2017-01-01

This study compared magnetoencephalographic (MEG) imaging-derived indices of auditory and somatosensory cortical processing in children aged 8–12 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 18), those with sensory processing dysfunction (SPD; N = 13) who do not meet ASD criteria, and typically developing control (TDC; N = 19) participants. The magnitude of responses to both auditory and tactile stimulation was comparable across all three groups; however, the M200 latency response from the left auditory cortex was significantly delayed in the ASD group relative to both the TDC and SPD groups, whereas the somatosensory response of the ASD group was only delayed relative to TDC participants. The SPD group did not significantly differ from either group in terms of somatosensory latency, suggesting that participants with SPD may have an intermediate phenotype between ASD and TDC with regard to somatosensory processing. For the ASD group, correlation analyses indicated that the left M200 latency delay was significantly associated with performance on the WISC-IV Verbal Comprehension Index as well as the DSTP Acoustic-Linguistic index. Further, these cortical auditory response delays were not associated with somatosensory cortical response delays or cognitive processing speed in the ASD group, suggesting that auditory delays in ASD are domain specific rather than associated with generalized processing delays. The specificity of these auditory delays to the ASD group, in addition to their correlation with verbal abilities, suggests that auditory sensory dysfunction may be implicated in communication symptoms in ASD, motivating further research aimed at understanding the impact of sensory dysfunction on the developing brain. PMID:28603492

Emotional responses associated with self-face processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorders: an fMRI study.

PubMed

Morita, Tomoyo; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Saito, Daisuke N; Ishitobi, Makoto; Munesue, Toshio; Itakura, Shoji; Omori, Masao; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Wada, Yuji; Sadato, Norihiro

2012-01-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show impaired emotional responses to self-face processing, but the underlying neural bases are unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated brain activity when 15 individuals with high-functioning ASD and 15 controls rated the photogenicity of self-face images and photographs of others' faces. Controls showed a strong correlation between photogenicity ratings and extent of embarrassment evoked by self-face images; this correlation was weaker among ASD individuals, indicating a decoupling between the cognitive evaluation of self-face images and emotional responses. Individuals with ASD demonstrated relatively low self-related activity in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which was related to specific autistic traits. There were significant group differences in the modulation of activity by embarrassment ratings in the right insular (IC) and lateral orbitofrontal cortices. Task-related activity in the right IC was lower in the ASD group. The reduced activity in the right IC for self-face images was associated with weak coupling between cognitive evaluation and emotional responses to self-face images. The PCC is responsible for self-referential processing, and the IC plays a role in emotional experience. Dysfunction in these areas could contribute to the lack of self-conscious behaviors in response to self-reflection in ASD individuals.

A Sky View of Earth From Suomi NPP

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-04-22

This composite image of southern Africa and the surrounding oceans was captured by six orbits of the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership spacecraft on April 9, 2015, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument. Tropical Cyclone Joalane can be seen over the Indian Ocean. Winds, tides and density differences constantly stir the oceans while phytoplankton continually grow and die. Orbiting radiometers such as VIIRS allows scientists to track this variability over time and contribute to better understanding of ocean processes that are beneficial to human survival on Earth. The image was created by the Ocean Biology Processing Group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. For more information, please visit: oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and www.nasa.gov/npp Image Credit: Ocean Biology Processing Group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

An Automatic Detection System of Lung Nodule Based on Multi-Group Patch-Based Deep Learning Network.

PubMed

Jiang, Hongyang; Ma, He; Qian, Wei; Gao, Mengdi; Li, Yan

2017-07-14

High-efficiency lung nodule detection dramatically contributes to the risk assessment of lung cancer. It is a significant and challenging task to quickly locate the exact positions of lung nodules. Extensive work has been done by researchers around this domain for approximately two decades. However, previous computer aided detection (CADe) schemes are mostly intricate and time-consuming since they may require more image processing modules, such as the computed tomography (CT) image transformation, the lung nodule segmentation and the feature extraction, to construct a whole CADe system. It is difficult for those schemes to process and analyze enormous data when the medical images continue to increase. Besides, some state of the art deep learning schemes may be strict in the standard of database. This study proposes an effective lung nodule detection scheme based on multi-group patches cut out from the lung images, which are enhanced by the Frangi filter. Through combining two groups of images, a four-channel convolution neural networks (CNN) model is designed to learn the knowledge of radiologists for detecting nodules of four levels. This CADe scheme can acquire the sensitivity of 80.06% with 4.7 false positives per scan and the sensitivity of 94% with 15.1 false positives per scan. The results demonstrate that the multi-group patch-based learning system is efficient to improve the performance of lung nodule detection and greatly reduce the false positives under a huge amount of image data.

Paediatric x-ray radiation dose reduction and image quality analysis.

PubMed

Martin, L; Ruddlesden, R; Makepeace, C; Robinson, L; Mistry, T; Starritt, H

2013-09-01

Collaboration of multiple staff groups has resulted in significant reduction in the risk of radiation-induced cancer from radiographic x-ray exposure during childhood. In this study at an acute NHS hospital trust, a preliminary audit identified initial exposure factors. These were compared with European and UK guidance, leading to the introduction of new factors that were in compliance with European guidance on x-ray tube potentials. Image quality was assessed using standard anatomical criteria scoring, and visual grading characteristics analysis assessed the impact on image quality of changes in exposure factors. This analysis determined the acceptability of gradual radiation dose reduction below the European and UK guidance levels. Chest and pelvis exposures were optimised, achieving dose reduction for each age group, with 7%-55% decrease in critical organ dose. Clinicians confirmed diagnostic image quality throughout the iterative process. Analysis of images acquired with preliminary and final exposure factors indicated an average visual grading analysis result of 0.5, demonstrating equivalent image quality. The optimisation process and final radiation doses are reported for Carestream computed radiography to aid other hospitals in minimising radiation risks to children.

Color Facsimile.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-02-01

modification of existing JPEG compression and decompression software available from Independent JPEG Users Group to process CIELAB color images and to use...externally specificed Huffman tables. In addition a conversion program was written to convert CIELAB color space images to red, green, blue color space

Assessment of the mechanics of a tissue-engineered rat trachea in an image-processing environment.

PubMed

Silva, Thiago Henrique Gomes da; Pazetti, Rogerio; Aoki, Fabio Gava; Cardoso, Paulo Francisco Guerreiro; Valenga, Marcelo Henrique; Deffune, Elenice; Evaristo, Thaiane; Pêgo-Fernandes, Paulo Manuel; Moriya, Henrique Takachi

2014-07-01

Despite the recent success regarding the transplantation of tissue-engineered airways, the mechanical properties of these grafts are not well understood. Mechanical assessment of a tissue-engineered airway graft before implantation may be used in the future as a predictor of function. The aim of this preliminary work was to develop a noninvasive image-processing environment for the assessment of airway mechanics. Decellularized, recellularized and normal tracheas (groups DECEL, RECEL, and CONTROL, respectively) immersed in Krebs-Henseleit solution were ventilated by a small-animal ventilator connected to a Fleisch pneumotachograph and two pressure transducers (differential and gauge). A camera connected to a stereomicroscope captured images of the pulsation of the trachea before instillation of saline solution and after instillation of Krebs-Henseleit solution, followed by instillation with Krebs-Henseleit with methacholine 0.1 M (protocols A, K and KMCh, respectively). The data were post-processed with computer software and statistical comparisons between groups and protocols were performed. There were statistically significant variations in the image measurements of the medial region of the trachea between the groups (two-way analysis of variance [ANOVA], p<0.01) and of the proximal region between the groups and protocols (two-way ANOVA, p<0.01). The technique developed in this study is an innovative method for performing a mechanical assessment of engineered tracheal grafts that will enable evaluation of the viscoelastic properties of neo-tracheas prior to transplantation.

TakeTwo: an indexing algorithm suited to still images with known crystal parameters

PubMed Central

Ginn, Helen Mary; Roedig, Philip; Kuo, Anling; Evans, Gwyndaf; Sauter, Nicholas K.; Ernst, Oliver; Meents, Alke; Mueller-Werkmeister, Henrike; Miller, R. J. Dwayne; Stuart, David Ian

2016-01-01

The indexing methods currently used for serial femtosecond crystallography were originally developed for experiments in which crystals are rotated in the X-ray beam, providing significant three-dimensional information. On the other hand, shots from both X-ray free-electron lasers and serial synchrotron crystallo­graphy experiments are still images, in which the few three-dimensional data available arise only from the curvature of the Ewald sphere. Traditional synchrotron crystallography methods are thus less well suited to still image data processing. Here, a new indexing method is presented with the aim of maximizing information use from a still image given the known unit-cell dimensions and space group. Efficacy for cubic, hexagonal and orthorhombic space groups is shown, and for those showing some evidence of diffraction the indexing rate ranged from 90% (hexagonal space group) to 151% (cubic space group). Here, the indexing rate refers to the number of lattices indexed per image. PMID:27487826

TakeTwo: an indexing algorithm suited to still images with known crystal parameters

DOE PAGES

Ginn, Helen Mary; Roedig, Philip; Kuo, Anling; ...

2016-08-01

The indexing methods currently used for serial femtosecond crystallography were originally developed for experiments in which crystals are rotated in the X-ray beam, providing significant three-dimensional information. On the other hand, shots from both X-ray free-electron lasers and serial synchrotron crystallography experiments are still images, in which the few three-dimensional data available arise only from the curvature of the Ewald sphere. Traditional synchrotron crystallography methods are thus less well suited to still image data processing. Here, a new indexing method is presented with the aim of maximizing information use from a still image given the known unit-cell dimensions and spacemore » group. Efficacy for cubic, hexagonal and orthorhombic space groups is shown, and for those showing some evidence of diffraction the indexing rate ranged from 90% (hexagonal space group) to 151% (cubic space group). Here, the indexing rate refers to the number of lattices indexed per image.« less

Planetary image conversion task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, M. D.; Stanley, C. L.; Laughlin, G.

1985-01-01

The Planetary Image Conversion Task group processed 12,500 magnetic tapes containing raw imaging data from JPL planetary missions and produced an image data base in consistent format on 1200 fully packed 6250-bpi tapes. The output tapes will remain at JPL. A copy of the entire tape set was delivered to US Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz. A secondary task converted computer datalogs, which had been stored in project specific MARK IV File Management System data types and structures, to flat-file, text format that is processable on any modern computer system. The conversion processing took place at JPL's Image Processing Laboratory on an IBM 370-158 with existing software modified slightly to meet the needs of the conversion task. More than 99% of the original digital image data was successfully recovered by the conversion task. However, processing data tapes recorded before 1975 was destructive. This discovery is of critical importance to facilities responsible for maintaining digital archives since normal periodic random sampling techniques would be unlikely to detect this phenomenon, and entire data sets could be wiped out in the act of generating seemingly positive sampling results. Reccomended follow-on activities are also included.

Informatics in radiology (infoRAD): free DICOM image viewing and processing software for the Macintosh computer: what's available and what it can do for you.

PubMed

Escott, Edward J; Rubinstein, David

2004-01-01

It is often necessary for radiologists to use digital images in presentations and conferences. Most imaging modalities produce images in the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format. The image files tend to be large and thus cannot be directly imported into most presentation software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint; the large files also consume storage space. There are many free programs that allow viewing and processing of these files on a personal computer, including conversion to more common file formats such as the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format. Free DICOM image viewing and processing software for computers running on the Microsoft Windows operating system has already been evaluated. However, many people use the Macintosh (Apple Computer) platform, and a number of programs are available for these users. The World Wide Web was searched for free DICOM image viewing or processing software that was designed for the Macintosh platform or is written in Java and is therefore platform independent. The features of these programs and their usability were evaluated. There are many free programs for the Macintosh platform that enable viewing and processing of DICOM images. (c) RSNA, 2004.

Adaptive structured dictionary learning for image fusion based on group-sparse-representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jiajie; Sun, Bin; Luo, Chengwei; Wu, Yuzhong; Xu, Limei

2018-04-01

Dictionary learning is the key process of sparse representation which is one of the most widely used image representation theories in image fusion. The existing dictionary learning method does not use the group structure information and the sparse coefficients well. In this paper, we propose a new adaptive structured dictionary learning algorithm and a l1-norm maximum fusion rule that innovatively utilizes grouped sparse coefficients to merge the images. In the dictionary learning algorithm, we do not need prior knowledge about any group structure of the dictionary. By using the characteristics of the dictionary in expressing the signal, our algorithm can automatically find the desired potential structure information that hidden in the dictionary. The fusion rule takes the physical meaning of the group structure dictionary, and makes activity-level judgement on the structure information when the images are being merged. Therefore, the fused image can retain more significant information. Comparisons have been made with several state-of-the-art dictionary learning methods and fusion rules. The experimental results demonstrate that, the dictionary learning algorithm and the fusion rule both outperform others in terms of several objective evaluation metrics.

Data mining for average images in a digital hand atlas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Aifeng; Cao, Fei; Pietka, Ewa; Liu, Brent J.; Huang, H. K.

2004-04-01

Bone age assessment is a procedure performed in pediatric patients to quickly evaluate parameters of maturation and growth from a left hand and wrist radiograph. Pietka and Cao have developed a Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) method of bone age assessment based on a digital hand atlas. The aim of this paper is to extend their work by automatically select the best representative image from a group of normal children based on specific bony features that reflect skeletal maturity. The group can be of any ethnic origin and gender from one year to 18 year old in the digital atlas. This best representative image is defined as the "average" image of the group that can be augmented to Piekta and Cao's method to facilitate in the bone age assessment process.

Digital Longitudinal Tomosynthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rimkus, Daniel Steven

1985-12-01

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the clinical utility of digital longitudinal tomosynthesis in radiology. By acquiring a finite group of digital images during a longitudinal tomographic exposure, and processing these images, tomographic planes, other than the fulcrum plane, can be reconstructed. This process is now termed "tomosynthesis". A prototype system utilizing this technique was developed. Both phantom and patient studies were done with this system. The phantom studies were evaluated by subjective, visual criterion and by quantitative analysis of edge sharpness and noise in the reconstructions. Two groups of patients and one volunteer were studied. The first patient group consisted of 8 patients undergoing intravenous urography (IVU). These patients had digital tomography and film tomography of the abdomen. The second patient group consisted of 4 patients with lung cancer admitted to the hospital for laser resection of endobronchial tumor. These patients had mediastinal digital tomograms to evaluate the trachea and mainstem bronchi. The knee of one volunteer was imaged by film tomography and digital tomography. The results of the phantom studies showed that the digital reconstructions accurately produced images of the desired planes. The edge sharpness of the reconstructions approached that of the acquired images. Adequate reconstructions were achieved with as few as 5 images acquired during the exposure, with the quality of the reconstructions improving as the number of images acquired increased. The IVU patients' digital studies had less contrast and spatial resolution than the film tomograms. The single renal lesion visible on the film tomograms was also visible in the digital images. The digital mediastinal studies were felt by several radiologists to be superior to a standard chest xray in evaluating the airways. The digital images of the volunteer's knee showed many of the same anatomic features as the film tomogram, but the digital images had less spatial and contrast resolution. With the equipment improvements discussed in the thesis, digital tomography may have an important role in radiology.

A generic FPGA-based detector readout and real-time image processing board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarpotdar, Mayuresh; Mathew, Joice; Safonova, Margarita; Murthy, Jayant

2016-07-01

For space-based astronomical observations, it is important to have a mechanism to capture the digital output from the standard detector for further on-board analysis and storage. We have developed a generic (application- wise) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) board to interface with an image sensor, a method to generate the clocks required to read the image data from the sensor, and a real-time image processor system (on-chip) which can be used for various image processing tasks. The FPGA board is applied as the image processor board in the Lunar Ultraviolet Cosmic Imager (LUCI) and a star sensor (StarSense) - instruments developed by our group. In this paper, we discuss the various design considerations for this board and its applications in the future balloon and possible space flights.

Automation of image data processing. (Polish Title: Automatyzacja proces u przetwarzania danych obrazowych)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preuss, R.

2014-12-01

This article discusses the current capabilities of automate processing of the image data on the example of using PhotoScan software by Agisoft. At present, image data obtained by various registration systems (metric and non - metric cameras) placed on airplanes, satellites, or more often on UAVs is used to create photogrammetric products. Multiple registrations of object or land area (large groups of photos are captured) are usually performed in order to eliminate obscured area as well as to raise the final accuracy of the photogrammetric product. Because of such a situation t he geometry of the resulting image blocks is far from the typical configuration of images. For fast images georeferencing automatic image matching algorithms are currently applied. They can create a model of a block in the local coordinate system or using initial exterior orientation and measured control points can provide image georeference in an external reference frame. In the case of non - metric image application, it is also possible to carry out self - calibration process at this stage. Image matching algorithm is also used in generation of dense point clouds reconstructing spatial shape of the object (area). In subsequent processing steps it is possible to obtain typical photogrammetric products such as orthomosaic, DSM or DTM and a photorealistic solid model of an object . All aforementioned processing steps are implemented in a single program in contrary to standard commercial software dividing all steps into dedicated modules. Image processing leading to final geo referenced products can be fully automated including sequential implementation of the processing steps at predetermined control parameters. The paper presents the practical results of the application fully automatic generation of othomosaic for both images obtained by a metric Vexell camera and a block of images acquired by a non - metric UAV system

Extraction of latent images from printed media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergeyev, Vladislav; Fedoseev, Victor

2015-12-01

In this paper we propose an automatic technology for extraction of latent images from printed media such as documents, banknotes, financial securities, etc. This technology includes image processing by adaptively constructed Gabor filter bank for obtaining feature images, as well as subsequent stages of feature selection, grouping and multicomponent segmentation. The main advantage of the proposed technique is versatility: it allows to extract latent images made by different texture variations. Experimental results showing performance of the method over another known system for latent image extraction are given.

Diffraction Seismic Imaging of the Chalk Group Reservoir Rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montazeri, M.; Fomel, S.; Nielsen, L.

2016-12-01

In this study we investigate seismic diffracted waves instead of seismic reflected waves, which are usually much stronger and carry most of the information regarding subsurface structures. The goal of this study is to improve imaging of small subsurface features such as faults and fractures. Moreover, we focus on the Chalk Group, which contains important groundwater resources onshore and oil and gas reservoirs in the Danish sector of the North Sea. Finding optimum seismic velocity models for the Chalk Group and estimating high-quality stacked sections with conventional processing methods are challenging tasks. Here, we try to filter out as much as possible of undesired arrivals before stacking the seismic data. Further, a plane-wave destruction method is applied on the seismic stack in order to dampen the reflection events and thereby enhance the visibility of the diffraction events. After this initial processing, we estimate the optimum migration velocity using diffraction events in order to obtain a better resolution stack. The results from this study demonstrate how diffraction imaging can be used as an additional tool for improving the images of small-scale features in the Chalk Group reservoir, in particular faults and fractures. Moreover, we discuss the potential of applying this approach in future studies focused on such reservoirs.

Advanced Diagnostics for Reacting Flows

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

TECHNICAL DISCUSSION: 1. Infrared-PLIF Imaging Diagnostics using Vibrational Transitions IR-PLIF allows for imaging a group of molecular species important...excitation of IR-active vibrational modes with imaging of the subsequent vibrational fluorescence. Quantitative interpretation requires knowledge of...the vibrational energy transfer processes, and hence in recent years we have been developing models for infrared fluorescence. During the past year

Development of Embodied Word Meanings: Sensorimotor Effects in Children’s Lexical Processing

PubMed Central

Inkster, Michelle; Wellsby, Michele; Lloyd, Ellen; Pexman, Penny M.

2016-01-01

Previous research showed an effect of words’ rated body–object interaction (BOI) in children’s visual word naming performance, but only in children 8 years of age or older (Wellsby and Pexman, 2014a). In that study, however, BOI was established using adult ratings. Here we collected ratings from a group of parents for children’s BOI experience (child-BOI). We examined effects of words’ child-BOI and also words’ imageability on children’s responses in an auditory word naming task, which is suited to the lexical processing skills of younger children. We tested a group of 54 children aged 6–7 years and a comparison group of 25 adults. Results showed significant effects of both imageability and child-BOI on children’s auditory naming latencies. These results provide evidence that children younger than 8 years of age have richer semantic representations for high imageability and high child-BOI words, consistent with an embodied account of word meaning. PMID:27014129

Light field creating and imaging with different order intensity derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yu; Jiang, Huan

2014-10-01

Microscopic image restoration and reconstruction is a challenging topic in the image processing and computer vision, which can be widely applied to life science, biology and medicine etc. A microscopic light field creating and three dimensional (3D) reconstruction method is proposed for transparent or partially transparent microscopic samples, which is based on the Taylor expansion theorem and polynomial fitting. Firstly the image stack of the specimen is divided into several groups in an overlapping or non-overlapping way along the optical axis, and the first image of every group is regarded as reference image. Then different order intensity derivatives are calculated using all the images of every group and polynomial fitting method based on the assumption that the structure of the specimen contained by the image stack in a small range along the optical axis are possessed of smooth and linear property. Subsequently, new images located any position from which to reference image the distance is Δz along the optical axis can be generated by means of Taylor expansion theorem and the calculated different order intensity derivatives. Finally, the microscopic specimen can be reconstructed in 3D form using deconvolution technology and all the images including both the observed images and the generated images. The experimental results show the effectiveness and feasibility of our method.

EULAR-PReS points to consider for the use of imaging in the diagnosis and management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis in clinical practice.

PubMed

Colebatch-Bourn, A N; Edwards, C J; Collado, P; D'Agostino, M-A; Hemke, R; Jousse-Joulin, S; Maas, M; Martini, A; Naredo, E; Østergaard, M; Rooney, M; Tzaribachev, N; van Rossum, M A; Vojinovic, J; Conaghan, P G; Malattia, C

2015-11-01

To develop evidence based points to consider the use of imaging in the diagnosis and management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in clinical practice. The task force comprised a group of paediatric rheumatologists, rheumatologists experienced in imaging, radiologists, methodologists and patients from nine countries. Eleven questions on imaging in JIA were generated using a process of discussion and consensus. Research evidence was searched systematically for each question using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL. Imaging modalities included were conventional radiography, ultrasound, MRI, CT, scintigraphy and positron emission tomography. The experts used the evidence obtained from the relevant studies to develop a set of points to consider. The level of agreement with each point to consider was assessed using a numerical rating scale. A total of 13 277 references were identified from the search process, from which 204 studies were included in the systematic review. Nine points to consider were produced, taking into account the heterogeneity of JIA, the lack of normative data and consequent difficulty identifying pathology. These encompassed the role of imaging in making a diagnosis of JIA, detecting and monitoring inflammation and damage, predicting outcome and response to treatment, use of guided therapies, progression and remission. Level of agreement for each proposition varied according to the research evidence and expert opinion. Nine points to consider and a related research agenda for the role of imaging in the management of JIA were developed using published evidence and expert opinion. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Vectorized image segmentation via trixel agglomeration

DOEpatents

Prasad, Lakshman [Los Alamos, NM; Skourikhine, Alexei N [Los Alamos, NM

2006-10-24

A computer implemented method transforms an image comprised of pixels into a vectorized image specified by a plurality of polygons that can be subsequently used to aid in image processing and understanding. The pixelated image is processed to extract edge pixels that separate different colors and a constrained Delaunay triangulation of the edge pixels forms a plurality of triangles having edges that cover the pixelated image. A color for each one of the plurality of triangles is determined from the color pixels within each triangle. A filter is formed with a set of grouping rules related to features of the pixelated image and applied to the plurality of triangle edges to merge adjacent triangles consistent with the filter into polygons having a plurality of vertices. The pixelated image may be then reformed into an array of the polygons, that can be represented collectively and efficiently by standard vector image.

Social comparisons with media images are cognitively inefficient even for women who say they feel pressure from the media.

PubMed

Want, Stephen C; Saiphoo, Alyssa

2017-03-01

The present study investigated whether social comparisons with media images are cognitively efficient (demanding minimal mental effort) or cognitively effortful processes, in a sample of female undergraduate students (N=151) who reported feeling pressure from the media regarding their appearance. Two groups were shown 12 images of thin and attractive female models. One group was asked to memorize a complex 8-digit number during exposure to the images (Cognitively Busy condition), while the other memorized a much simpler number (Free View condition). A third group (Control condition) viewed images without people. Participants in the Free View condition demonstrated significantly increased negative mood and lowered appearance satisfaction from before to after exposure, while participants in the Cognitively Busy and Control conditions did not. We argue that these results suggest social comparisons with media images are at least somewhat cognitively effortful even among women who say they feel pressure from the media. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic screening and classification of diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy using fuzzy image processing.

PubMed

Rahim, Sarni Suhaila; Palade, Vasile; Shuttleworth, James; Jayne, Chrisina

2016-12-01

Digital retinal imaging is a challenging screening method for which effective, robust and cost-effective approaches are still to be developed. Regular screening for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic maculopathy diseases is necessary in order to identify the group at risk of visual impairment. This paper presents a novel automatic detection of diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy in eye fundus images by employing fuzzy image processing techniques. The paper first introduces the existing systems for diabetic retinopathy screening, with an emphasis on the maculopathy detection methods. The proposed medical decision support system consists of four parts, namely: image acquisition, image preprocessing including four retinal structures localisation, feature extraction and the classification of diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy. A combination of fuzzy image processing techniques, the Circular Hough Transform and several feature extraction methods are implemented in the proposed system. The paper also presents a novel technique for the macula region localisation in order to detect the maculopathy. In addition to the proposed detection system, the paper highlights a novel online dataset and it presents the dataset collection, the expert diagnosis process and the advantages of our online database compared to other public eye fundus image databases for diabetic retinopathy purposes.

Serial grouping of 2D-image regions with object-based attention in humans.

PubMed

Jeurissen, Danique; Self, Matthew W; Roelfsema, Pieter R

2016-06-13

After an initial stage of local analysis within the retina and early visual pathways, the human visual system creates a structured representation of the visual scene by co-selecting image elements that are part of behaviorally relevant objects. The mechanisms underlying this perceptual organization process are only partially understood. We here investigate the time-course of perceptual grouping of two-dimensional image-regions by measuring the reaction times of human participants and report that it is associated with the gradual spread of object-based attention. Attention spreads fastest over large and homogeneous areas and is slowed down at locations that require small-scale processing. We find that the time-course of the object-based selection process is well explained by a 'growth-cone' model, which selects surface elements in an incremental, scale-dependent manner. We discuss how the visual cortical hierarchy can implement this scale-dependent spread of object-based attention, leveraging the different receptive field sizes in distinct cortical areas.

Evaluation of color grading impact in restoration process of archive films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fliegel, Karel; Vítek, Stanislav; Páta, Petr; Janout, Petr; Myslík, Jiří; Pecák, Josef; Jícha, Marek

2016-09-01

Color grading of archive films is a very particular task in the process of their restoration. The ultimate goal of color grading here is to achieve the same look of the movie as intended at the time of its first presentation. The role of the expert restorer, expert group and a digital colorist in this complicated process is to find the optimal settings of the digital color grading system so that the resulting image look is as close as possible to the estimate of the original reference release print adjusted by the expert group of cinematographers. A methodology for subjective assessment of perceived differences between the outcomes of color grading is introduced, and results of a subjective study are presented. Techniques for objective assessment of perceived differences are discussed, and their performance is evaluated using ground truth obtained from the subjective experiment. In particular, a solution based on calibrated digital single-lens reflex camera and subsequent analysis of image features captured from the projection screen is described. The system based on our previous work is further developed so that it can be used for the analysis of projected images. It allows assessing color differences in these images and predict their impact on the perceived difference in image look.

a Geographic Data Gathering System for Image Geolocalization Refining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semaan, B.; Servières, M.; Moreau, G.; Chebaro, B.

2017-09-01

Image geolocalization has become an important research field during the last decade. This field is divided into two main sections. The first is image geolocalization that is used to find out which country, region or city the image belongs to. The second one is refining image localization for uses that require more accuracy such as augmented reality and three dimensional environment reconstruction using images. In this paper we present a processing chain that gathers geographic data from several sources in order to deliver a better geolocalization than the GPS one of an image and precise camera pose parameters. In order to do so, we use multiple types of data. Among this information some are visible in the image and are extracted using image processing, other types of data can be extracted from image file headers or online image sharing platforms related information. Extracted information elements will not be expressive enough if they remain disconnected. We show that grouping these information elements helps finding the best geolocalization of the image.

Standardization efforts of digital pathology in Europe.

PubMed

Rojo, Marcial García; Daniel, Christel; Schrader, Thomas

2012-01-01

EURO-TELEPATH is a European COST Action IC0604. It started in 2007 and will end in November 2011. Its main objectives are evaluating and validating the common technological framework and communication standards required to access, transmit, and manage digital medical records by pathologists and other medical specialties in a networked environment. Working Group 1, "Business Modelling in Pathology," has designed main pathology processes - Frozen Study, Formalin Fixed Specimen Study, Telepathology, Cytology, and Autopsy - using Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN). Working Group 2 has been dedicated to promoting the application of informatics standards in pathology, collaborating with Integrating Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), Health Level Seven (HL7), and other standardization bodies. Health terminology standardization research has become a topic of great interest. Future research work should focus on standardizing automatic image analysis and tissue microarrays imaging.

Learning implicit brain MRI manifolds with deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bermudez, Camilo; Plassard, Andrew J.; Davis, Larry T.; Newton, Allen T.; Resnick, Susan M.; Landman, Bennett A.

2018-03-01

An important task in image processing and neuroimaging is to extract quantitative information from the acquired images in order to make observations about the presence of disease or markers of development in populations. Having a low-dimensional manifold of an image allows for easier statistical comparisons between groups and the synthesis of group representatives. Previous studies have sought to identify the best mapping of brain MRI to a low-dimensional manifold, but have been limited by assumptions of explicit similarity measures. In this work, we use deep learning techniques to investigate implicit manifolds of normal brains and generate new, high-quality images. We explore implicit manifolds by addressing the problems of image synthesis and image denoising as important tools in manifold learning. First, we propose the unsupervised synthesis of T1-weighted brain MRI using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) by learning from 528 examples of 2D axial slices of brain MRI. Synthesized images were first shown to be unique by performing a cross-correlation with the training set. Real and synthesized images were then assessed in a blinded manner by two imaging experts providing an image quality score of 1-5. The quality score of the synthetic image showed substantial overlap with that of the real images. Moreover, we use an autoencoder with skip connections for image denoising, showing that the proposed method results in higher PSNR than FSL SUSAN after denoising. This work shows the power of artificial networks to synthesize realistic imaging data, which can be used to improve image processing techniques and provide a quantitative framework to structural changes in the brain.

The search for extended infrared emission near interacting and active galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Appleton, Philip N.

1991-01-01

The following subject areas are covered: the search for extended far IR emission; the search for extended emission in galaxy groups; a brief review of the flattening algorithm; the target groups; extended emission from groups and intergalactic HI clouds; and morphological image processing.

Graph theory for feature extraction and classification: a migraine pathology case study.

PubMed

Jorge-Hernandez, Fernando; Garcia Chimeno, Yolanda; Garcia-Zapirain, Begonya; Cabrera Zubizarreta, Alberto; Gomez Beldarrain, Maria Angeles; Fernandez-Ruanova, Begonya

2014-01-01

Graph theory is also widely used as a representational form and characterization of brain connectivity network, as is machine learning for classifying groups depending on the features extracted from images. Many of these studies use different techniques, such as preprocessing, correlations, features or algorithms. This paper proposes an automatic tool to perform a standard process using images of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. The process includes pre-processing, building the graph per subject with different correlations, atlas, relevant feature extraction according to the literature, and finally providing a set of machine learning algorithms which can produce analyzable results for physicians or specialists. In order to verify the process, a set of images from prescription drug abusers and patients with migraine have been used. In this way, the proper functioning of the tool has been proved, providing results of 87% and 92% of success depending on the classifier used.

Particle Morphology Analysis of Biomass Material Based on Improved Image Processing Method

PubMed Central

Lu, Zhaolin

2017-01-01

Particle morphology, including size and shape, is an important factor that significantly influences the physical and chemical properties of biomass material. Based on image processing technology, a method was developed to process sample images, measure particle dimensions, and analyse the particle size and shape distributions of knife-milled wheat straw, which had been preclassified into five nominal size groups using mechanical sieving approach. Considering the great variation of particle size from micrometer to millimeter, the powders greater than 250 μm were photographed by a flatbed scanner without zoom function, and the others were photographed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with high-image resolution. Actual imaging tests confirmed the excellent effect of backscattered electron (BSE) imaging mode of SEM. Particle aggregation is an important factor that affects the recognition accuracy of the image processing method. In sample preparation, the singulated arrangement and ultrasonic dispersion methods were used to separate powders into particles that were larger and smaller than the nominal size of 250 μm. In addition, an image segmentation algorithm based on particle geometrical information was proposed to recognise the finer clustered powders. Experimental results demonstrated that the improved image processing method was suitable to analyse the particle size and shape distributions of ground biomass materials and solve the size inconsistencies in sieving analysis. PMID:28298925

Atomic Force Microscopy Based Cell Shape Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adia-Nimuwa, Usienemfon; Mujdat Tiryaki, Volkan; Hartz, Steven; Xie, Kan; Ayres, Virginia

2013-03-01

Stellation is a measure of cell physiology and pathology for several cell groups including neural, liver and pancreatic cells. In the present work, we compare the results of a conventional two-dimensional shape index study of both atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fluorescent microscopy images with the results obtained using a new three-dimensional AFM-based shape index similar to sphericity index. The stellation of astrocytes is investigated on nanofibrillar scaffolds composed of electrospun polyamide nanofibers that has demonstrated promise for central nervous system (CNS) repair. Recent work by our group has given us the ability to clearly segment the cells from nanofibrillar scaffolds in AFM images. The clear-featured AFM images indicated that the astrocyte processes were longer than previously identified at 24h. It was furthermore shown that cell spreading could vary significantly as a function of environmental parameters, and that AFM images could record these variations. The new three-dimensional AFM-based shape index incorporates the new information: longer stellate processes and cell spreading. The support of NSF PHY-095776 is acknowledged.

A Review of Algorithms for Segmentation of Optical Coherence Tomography from Retina

PubMed Central

Kafieh, Raheleh; Rabbani, Hossein; Kermani, Saeed

2013-01-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a recently established imaging technique to describe different information about the internal structures of an object and to image various aspects of biological tissues. OCT image segmentation is mostly introduced on retinal OCT to localize the intra-retinal boundaries. Here, we review some of the important image segmentation methods for processing retinal OCT images. We may classify the OCT segmentation approaches into five distinct groups according to the image domain subjected to the segmentation algorithm. Current researches in OCT segmentation are mostly based on improving the accuracy and precision, and on reducing the required processing time. There is no doubt that current 3-D imaging modalities are now moving the research projects toward volume segmentation along with 3-D rendering and visualization. It is also important to develop robust methods capable of dealing with pathologic cases in OCT imaging. PMID:24083137

Heuristic Analysis Model of Nitrided Layers’ Formation Consisting of the Image Processing and Analysis and Elements of Artificial Intelligence

PubMed Central

Wójcicki, Tomasz; Nowicki, Michał

2016-01-01

The article presents a selected area of research and development concerning the methods of material analysis based on the automatic image recognition of the investigated metallographic sections. The objectives of the analyses of the materials for gas nitriding technology are described. The methods of the preparation of nitrided layers, the steps of the process and the construction and operation of devices for gas nitriding are given. We discuss the possibility of using the methods of digital images processing in the analysis of the materials, as well as their essential task groups: improving the quality of the images, segmentation, morphological transformations and image recognition. The developed analysis model of the nitrided layers formation, covering image processing and analysis techniques, as well as selected methods of artificial intelligence are presented. The model is divided into stages, which are formalized in order to better reproduce their actions. The validation of the presented method is performed. The advantages and limitations of the developed solution, as well as the possibilities of its practical use, are listed. PMID:28773389

Utility of adaptive control processing for the interpretation of digital mammograms.

PubMed

Jinnouchi, Mikako; Yabuuchi, Hidetake; Kubo, Makoto; Tokunaga, Eriko; Yamamoto, Hidetaka; Honda, Hiroshi

2016-11-01

Background Adaptive control processing for mammography (ACM) is a novel program that automatically sets up appropriate image-processing parameters for individual mammograms (MMGs) by analyzing the focal and whole breast histogram. Purpose To investigate whether ACM improves the image contrast of digital MMGs and whether it improves radiologists' diagnostic performance in reading of MMGs. Material and Methods One hundred normal cases for image quality assessment and another 100 cases (50 normal and 50 cancers) for observer performance assessment were enrolled. All mammograms were examined with and without ACM. Five radiologists assessed the intra- and extra-mammary contrast of 100 normal MMGs, and the mean scores of the intra- and extra-mammary contrast were compared between MMGs with and without ACM in both the dense and non-dense group. They classified 100 MMGs into BI-RADS categories 1-5, and were asked to rate the images on a scale of 0 to 100 for the likelihood of the presence of category 3-5 lesions in each breast. Detectability of breast cancer, reading time, and frequency of window adjustment were compared between MMGs with and without ACM. Results ACM improved the intra-mammary contrast in both the dense and non-dense group but degraded extra-mammary contrast in the dense group. There was no significant difference in detectability of breast cancer between MMGs with and without ACM. Frequency of window adjustment without ACM was significantly higher than that with ACM. Reading time without ACM was significantly longer than that with ACM. Conclusion ACM improves the image contrast of MMGs and shortens reading time.

Impairment in Emotional Modulation of Attention and Memory in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Walsh-Messinger, Julie; Ramirez, Paul Michael; Wong, Philip; Antonius, Daniel; Aujero, Nicole; McMahon, Kevin; Opler, Lewis A.; Malaspina, Dolores

2014-01-01

Emotion plays a critical role in cognition and goal-directed behavior via complex interconnections between the emotional and motivational systems. It has been hypothesized that the impairment in goal-directed behavior widely noted in schizophrenia may result from defects in the interaction between the neural (ventral) emotional system and (rostral) cortical processes. The present study examined the impact of emotion on attention and memory in schizophrenia. Twenty-five individuals with schizophrenia related psychosis and 25 healthy control subjects were administered a computerized task in which they were asked to search for target images during a rapid serial visual presentation of pictures. Target stimuli were either positive, negative, or neutral images presented at either 200ms or 700ms lag. Additionally, a visual hedonics task was used to assess differences between the schizophrenia group and controls on ratings of valence and arousal from the picture stimuli. Compared to controls, individuals with schizophrenia detected fewer emotional images under both the 200ms and 700ms lag conditions. Multivariate analyses showed that the schizophrenia group also detected fewer positive images under the 700 lag condition and fewer negative images under the 200 lag condition. Individuals with schizophrenia reported higher pleasantness and unpleasantness ratings than controls in response to neutral stimuli, while controls reported higher arousal ratings for neutral and positive stimuli compared to the schizophrenia group. These results highlight dysfunction in the neural modulation of emotion, attention, and cortical processing in schizophrenia, adding to the growing but mixed body of literature on emotion processing in the disorder. PMID:24910446

Impairment in emotional modulation of attention and memory in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Walsh-Messinger, Julie; Ramirez, Paul Michael; Wong, Philip; Antonius, Daniel; Aujero, Nicole; McMahon, Kevin; Opler, Lewis A; Malaspina, Dolores

2014-08-01

Emotion plays a critical role in cognition and goal-directed behavior via complex interconnections between the emotional and motivational systems. It has been hypothesized that the impairment in goal-directed behavior widely noted in schizophrenia may result from defects in the interaction between the neural (ventral) emotional system and (rostral) cortical processes. The present study examined the impact of emotion on attention and memory in schizophrenia. Twenty-five individuals with schizophrenia related psychosis and 25 healthy control subjects were administered a computerized task in which they were asked to search for target images during a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation of pictures. Target stimuli were either positive or negative, or neutral images presented at either 200ms or 700ms lag. Additionally, a visual hedonic task was used to assess differences between the schizophrenia group and controls on ratings of valence and arousal from the picture stimuli. Compared to controls, individuals with schizophrenia detected fewer emotional images under both the 200ms and 700ms lag conditions. Multivariate analyses showed that the schizophrenia group also detected fewer positive images under the 700ms lag condition and fewer negative images under the 200ms lag condition. Individuals with schizophrenia reported higher pleasantness and unpleasantness ratings than controls in response to neutral stimuli, while controls reported higher arousal ratings for neutral and positive stimuli compared to the schizophrenia group. These results highlight dysfunction in the neural modulation of emotion, attention, and cortical processing in schizophrenia, adding to the growing but mixed body of literature on emotion processing in the disorder. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The effects of intranasal oxytocin on smoothie intake, cortisol and attentional bias in anorexia nervosa.

PubMed

Leppanen, Jenni; Cardi, Valentina; Ng, Kah Wee; Paloyelis, Yannis; Stein, Daniel; Tchanturia, Kate; Treasure, Janet

2017-05-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterised by severe malnutrition as well as intense fear and anxiety around food and eating with associated anomalies in information processing. Previous studies have found that the neuropeptide, oxytocin, can influence eating behaviour, lower the neurobiological stress response and anxiety among clinical populations, and alter attentional processing of food and eating related images in AN. Thirty adult women with AN and twenty-nine healthy comparison (HC) women took part in the current study. The study used double blind, placebo controlled, crossover design to investigate the effects of a single dose of intranasal oxytocin (40 IU) on a standard laboratory smoothie challenge, and on salivary cortisol, anxiety, and attentional bias towards food images before and after the smoothie challenge in AN and HC participants. Attentional bias was assessed using a visual probe task. Relative to placebo intranasal oxytocin reduced salivary cortisol and altered anomalies in attentional bias towards food images in the AN group only. The oxytocin-induced reduction in attentional avoidance of food images correlated with oxytocin induced reduction in salivary cortisol in the AN group before the smoothie challenge. Intranasal oxytocin did not significantly alter subjective feelings of anxiety or intake during the smoothie challenge in the AN or HC groups. Intranasal oxytocin may moderate the automated information processing biases in AN and reduce neurobiological stress. Further investigation of the effects of repeated administration of oxytocin on these processes as well as on eating behaviour and subjective anxiety would be of interest. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous parametric generation and up-conversion of entangled optical images

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

Saygin, M. Yu., E-mail: mihasyu@gmail.com; Chirkin, A. S., E-mail: aschirkin@rambler.r

A quantum theory of parametric amplification and frequency conversion of an optical image in coupled nonlinear optical processes that include one parametric amplification process at high-frequency pumping and two up-conversion processes in the same pump field is developed. The field momentum operator that takes into account the diffraction and group velocities of the waves is used to derive the quantum equations related to the spatial dynamics of the images during the interaction. An optical scheme for the amplification and conversion of a close image is considered. The mean photon number density and signal-to-noise ratio are calculated in the fixed-pump-field approximationmore » for images at various frequencies. It has been established that the signal-to-noise ratio decreases with increasing interaction length in the amplified image and increases in the images at the generated frequencies, tending to asymptotic values for all interacting waves. The variance of the difference of the numbers of photons is calculated for various pairs of frequencies. The quantum entanglement of the optical images formed in a high-frequency pump field is shown to be converted to higher frequencies during the generation of sum frequencies. Thus, two pairs of entangled optical images are produced in the process considered.« less

Detection of triterpene acids distribution in loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) leaf using hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Jiyong; Chen, Wu; Zou, Xiaobo; Xu, Yiwei; Huang, Xiaowei; Zhu, Yaodi; Shen, Tingting

2018-01-01

Hyperspectral images (431-962 nm) and partial least squares (PLS) were used to detect the distribution of triterpene acids within loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) leaves. 72 fresh loquat leaves in the young group, mature group and old group were collected for hyperspectral imaging; and triterpene acids content of the loquat leaves was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Then the spectral data of loquat leaf hyperspectral images and the triterpene acids content were employed to build calibration models. After spectra pre-processing and wavelength selection, an optimum calibration model (Rp = 0.8473, RMSEP = 2.61 mg/g) for predicting triterpene acids was obtained by synergy interval partial least squares (siPLS). Finally, spectral data of each pixel in the loquat leaf hyperspectral image were extracted and substituted into the optimum calibration model to predict triterpene acids content of each pixel. Therefore, the distribution map of triterpene acids content was obtained. As shown in the distribution map, triterpene acids are accumulated mainly in the leaf mesophyll regions near the main veins, and triterpene acids concentration of young group is less than that of mature and old groups. This study showed that hyperspectral imaging is suitable to determine the distribution of active constituent content in medical herbs in a rapid and non-invasive manner.

Perceptually relevant grouping of image tokens on the basis of constraint propagation from local binary patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behlim, Sadaf Iqbal; Syed, Tahir Qasim; Malik, Muhammad Yameen; Vigneron, Vincent

2016-11-01

Grouping image tokens is an intermediate step needed to arrive at meaningful image representation and summarization. Usually, perceptual cues, for instance, gestalt properties inform token grouping. However, they do not take into account structural continuities that could be derived from other tokens belonging to similar structures irrespective of their location. We propose an image representation that encodes structural constraints emerging from local binary patterns (LBP), which provides a long-distance measure of similarity but in a structurally connected way. Our representation provides a grouping of pixels or larger image tokens that is free of numeric similarity measures and could therefore be extended to nonmetric spaces. The representation lends itself nicely to ubiquitous image processing applications such as connected component labeling and segmentation. We test our proposed representation on the perceptual grouping or segmentation task on the popular Berkeley segmentation dataset (BSD500) that with respect to human segmented images achieves an average F-measure of 0.559. Our algorithm achieves a high average recall of 0.787 and is therefore well-suited to other applications such as object retrieval and category-independent object recognition. The proposed merging heuristic based on levels of singular tree component has shown promising results on the BSD500 dataset and currently ranks 12th among all benchmarked algorithms, but contrary to the others, it requires no data-driven training or specialized preprocessing.

Image-guided cold atmosphere plasma (CAP) therapy for cutaneous wound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Zelin; Ren, Wenqi; Gan, Qi; Li, Jiahong; Li, XiangXiang; Zhang, Shiwu; Jin, Fan; Cheng, Cheng; Ting, Yue; Xu, Ronald X.

2016-03-01

Bacterial infection is one of the major factors contributing to the compromised healing in chronic wounds. Sometimes bacteria biofilms formed on the wound are more resistant than adherent bacteria. Cold atmosphere plasma (CAP) has already shown its potential in contact-free disinfection, blood coagulation, and wound healing. In this study, we integrated a multimodal imaging system with a portable CAP device for image-guided treatment of infected wound in vivo and evaluated the antimicrobial effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa sample in vitro.15 ICR mice were divided into three groups for therapeutic experiments:(1) control group with no infection nor treatment (2) infection group without treatment (3) infection group with treatment. For each mouse, a three millimeters punch biopsy was created on the dorsal skin. Infection was induced by Staphylococcus aureus inoculation one day post-wounding. The treated group was subjected to CAP for 2 min daily till day 13. For each group, five fixed wounds' oxygenation and blood perfusion were evaluated daily till day 13 by a multimodal imaging system that integrates a multispectral imaging module and a laser speckle imaging module. In the research of relationship between therapeutic depth and sterilization effect on P.aeruginosa in agarose, we found that the CAP-generated reactive species reached the depth of 26.7μm at 30s and 41.6μm at 60s for anti-bacterial effects. Image-guided CAP therapy can be potentially used to control infection and facilitate the healing process of infected wounds.

A semi-automated image analysis procedure for in situ plankton imaging systems.

PubMed

Bi, Hongsheng; Guo, Zhenhua; Benfield, Mark C; Fan, Chunlei; Ford, Michael; Shahrestani, Suzan; Sieracki, Jeffery M

2015-01-01

Plankton imaging systems are capable of providing fine-scale observations that enhance our understanding of key physical and biological processes. However, processing the large volumes of data collected by imaging systems remains a major obstacle for their employment, and existing approaches are designed either for images acquired under laboratory controlled conditions or within clear waters. In the present study, we developed a semi-automated approach to analyze plankton taxa from images acquired by the ZOOplankton VISualization (ZOOVIS) system within turbid estuarine waters, in Chesapeake Bay. When compared to images under laboratory controlled conditions or clear waters, images from highly turbid waters are often of relatively low quality and more variable, due to the large amount of objects and nonlinear illumination within each image. We first customized a segmentation procedure to locate objects within each image and extracted them for classification. A maximally stable extremal regions algorithm was applied to segment large gelatinous zooplankton and an adaptive threshold approach was developed to segment small organisms, such as copepods. Unlike the existing approaches for images acquired from laboratory, controlled conditions or clear waters, the target objects are often the majority class, and the classification can be treated as a multi-class classification problem. We customized a two-level hierarchical classification procedure using support vector machines to classify the target objects (< 5%), and remove the non-target objects (> 95%). First, histograms of oriented gradients feature descriptors were constructed for the segmented objects. In the first step all non-target and target objects were classified into different groups: arrow-like, copepod-like, and gelatinous zooplankton. Each object was passed to a group-specific classifier to remove most non-target objects. After the object was classified, an expert or non-expert then manually removed the non-target objects that could not be removed by the procedure. The procedure was tested on 89,419 images collected in Chesapeake Bay, and results were consistent with visual counts with >80% accuracy for all three groups.

A Semi-Automated Image Analysis Procedure for In Situ Plankton Imaging Systems

PubMed Central

Bi, Hongsheng; Guo, Zhenhua; Benfield, Mark C.; Fan, Chunlei; Ford, Michael; Shahrestani, Suzan; Sieracki, Jeffery M.

2015-01-01

Plankton imaging systems are capable of providing fine-scale observations that enhance our understanding of key physical and biological processes. However, processing the large volumes of data collected by imaging systems remains a major obstacle for their employment, and existing approaches are designed either for images acquired under laboratory controlled conditions or within clear waters. In the present study, we developed a semi-automated approach to analyze plankton taxa from images acquired by the ZOOplankton VISualization (ZOOVIS) system within turbid estuarine waters, in Chesapeake Bay. When compared to images under laboratory controlled conditions or clear waters, images from highly turbid waters are often of relatively low quality and more variable, due to the large amount of objects and nonlinear illumination within each image. We first customized a segmentation procedure to locate objects within each image and extracted them for classification. A maximally stable extremal regions algorithm was applied to segment large gelatinous zooplankton and an adaptive threshold approach was developed to segment small organisms, such as copepods. Unlike the existing approaches for images acquired from laboratory, controlled conditions or clear waters, the target objects are often the majority class, and the classification can be treated as a multi-class classification problem. We customized a two-level hierarchical classification procedure using support vector machines to classify the target objects (< 5%), and remove the non-target objects (> 95%). First, histograms of oriented gradients feature descriptors were constructed for the segmented objects. In the first step all non-target and target objects were classified into different groups: arrow-like, copepod-like, and gelatinous zooplankton. Each object was passed to a group-specific classifier to remove most non-target objects. After the object was classified, an expert or non-expert then manually removed the non-target objects that could not be removed by the procedure. The procedure was tested on 89,419 images collected in Chesapeake Bay, and results were consistent with visual counts with >80% accuracy for all three groups. PMID:26010260

Image Processing Strategies Based on a Visual Saliency Model for Object Recognition Under Simulated Prosthetic Vision.

PubMed

Wang, Jing; Li, Heng; Fu, Weizhen; Chen, Yao; Li, Liming; Lyu, Qing; Han, Tingting; Chai, Xinyu

2016-01-01

Retinal prostheses have the potential to restore partial vision. Object recognition in scenes of daily life is one of the essential tasks for implant wearers. Still limited by the low-resolution visual percepts provided by retinal prostheses, it is important to investigate and apply image processing methods to convey more useful visual information to the wearers. We proposed two image processing strategies based on Itti's visual saliency map, region of interest (ROI) extraction, and image segmentation. Itti's saliency model generated a saliency map from the original image, in which salient regions were grouped into ROI by the fuzzy c-means clustering. Then Grabcut generated a proto-object from the ROI labeled image which was recombined with background and enhanced in two ways--8-4 separated pixelization (8-4 SP) and background edge extraction (BEE). Results showed that both 8-4 SP and BEE had significantly higher recognition accuracy in comparison with direct pixelization (DP). Each saliency-based image processing strategy was subject to the performance of image segmentation. Under good and perfect segmentation conditions, BEE and 8-4 SP obtained noticeably higher recognition accuracy than DP, and under bad segmentation condition, only BEE boosted the performance. The application of saliency-based image processing strategies was verified to be beneficial to object recognition in daily scenes under simulated prosthetic vision. They are hoped to help the development of the image processing module for future retinal prostheses, and thus provide more benefit for the patients. Copyright © 2015 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Quantification of differences between nailfold capillaroscopy images with a scleroderma pattern and normal pattern using measures of geometric and algorithmic complexity.

PubMed

Urwin, Samuel George; Griffiths, Bridget; Allen, John

2017-02-01

This study aimed to quantify and investigate differences in the geometric and algorithmic complexity of the microvasculature in nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) images displaying a scleroderma pattern and those displaying a 'normal' pattern. 11 NFC images were qualitatively classified by a capillary specialist as indicative of 'clear microangiopathy' (CM), i.e. a scleroderma pattern, and 11 as 'not clear microangiopathy' (NCM), i.e. a 'normal' pattern. Pre-processing was performed, and fractal dimension (FD) and Kolmogorov complexity (KC) were calculated following image binarisation. FD and KC were compared between groups, and a k-means cluster analysis (n  =  2) on all images was performed, without prior knowledge of the group assigned to them (i.e. CM or NCM), using FD and KC as inputs. CM images had significantly reduced FD and KC compared to NCM images, and the cluster analysis displayed promising results that the quantitative classification of images into CM and NCM groups is possible using the mathematical measures of FD and KC. The analysis techniques used show promise for quantitative microvascular investigation in patients with systemic sclerosis.

A quantitative study of nanoparticle skin penetration with interactive segmentation.

PubMed

Lee, Onseok; Lee, See Hyun; Jeong, Sang Hoon; Kim, Jaeyoung; Ryu, Hwa Jung; Oh, Chilhwan; Son, Sang Wook

2016-10-01

In the last decade, the application of nanotechnology techniques has expanded within diverse areas such as pharmacology, medicine, and optical science. Despite such wide-ranging possibilities for implementation into practice, the mechanisms behind nanoparticle skin absorption remain unknown. Moreover, the main mode of investigation has been qualitative analysis. Using interactive segmentation, this study suggests a method of objectively and quantitatively analyzing the mechanisms underlying the skin absorption of nanoparticles. Silica nanoparticles (SNPs) were assessed using transmission electron microscopy and applied to the human skin equivalent model. Captured fluorescence images of this model were used to evaluate degrees of skin penetration. These images underwent interactive segmentation and image processing in addition to statistical quantitative analyses of calculated image parameters including the mean, integrated density, skewness, kurtosis, and area fraction. In images from both groups, the distribution area and intensity of fluorescent silica gradually increased in proportion to time. Since statistical significance was achieved after 2 days in the negative charge group and after 4 days in the positive charge group, there is a periodic difference. Furthermore, the quantity of silica per unit area showed a dramatic change after 6 days in the negative charge group. Although this quantitative result is identical to results obtained by qualitative assessment, it is meaningful in that it was proven by statistical analysis with quantitation by using image processing. The present study suggests that the surface charge of SNPs could play an important role in the percutaneous absorption of NPs. These findings can help achieve a better understanding of the percutaneous transport of NPs. In addition, these results provide important guidance for the design of NPs for biomedical applications.

Use of image registration and fusion algorithms and techniques in radiotherapy: Report of the AAPM Radiation Therapy Committee Task Group No. 132.

PubMed

Brock, Kristy K; Mutic, Sasa; McNutt, Todd R; Li, Hua; Kessler, Marc L

2017-07-01

Image registration and fusion algorithms exist in almost every software system that creates or uses images in radiotherapy. Most treatment planning systems support some form of image registration and fusion to allow the use of multimodality and time-series image data and even anatomical atlases to assist in target volume and normal tissue delineation. Treatment delivery systems perform registration and fusion between the planning images and the in-room images acquired during the treatment to assist patient positioning. Advanced applications are beginning to support daily dose assessment and enable adaptive radiotherapy using image registration and fusion to propagate contours and accumulate dose between image data taken over the course of therapy to provide up-to-date estimates of anatomical changes and delivered dose. This information aids in the detection of anatomical and functional changes that might elicit changes in the treatment plan or prescription. As the output of the image registration process is always used as the input of another process for planning or delivery, it is important to understand and communicate the uncertainty associated with the software in general and the result of a specific registration. Unfortunately, there is no standard mathematical formalism to perform this for real-world situations where noise, distortion, and complex anatomical variations can occur. Validation of the software systems performance is also complicated by the lack of documentation available from commercial systems leading to use of these systems in undesirable 'black-box' fashion. In view of this situation and the central role that image registration and fusion play in treatment planning and delivery, the Therapy Physics Committee of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine commissioned Task Group 132 to review current approaches and solutions for image registration (both rigid and deformable) in radiotherapy and to provide recommendations for quality assurance and quality control of these clinical processes. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

3D Printout Models vs. 3D-Rendered Images: Which Is Better for Preoperative Planning?

PubMed

Zheng, Yi-xiong; Yu, Di-fei; Zhao, Jian-gang; Wu, Yu-lian; Zheng, Bin

2016-01-01

Correct interpretation of a patient's anatomy and changes that occurs secondary to a disease process are crucial in the preoperative process to ensure optimal surgical treatment. In this study, we presented 3 different pancreatic cancer cases to surgical residents in the form of 3D-rendered images and 3D-printed models to investigate which modality resulted in the most appropriate preoperative plan. We selected 3 cases that would require significantly different preoperative plans based on key features identifiable in the preoperative computed tomography imaging. 3D volume rendering and 3D printing were performed respectively to create 2 different training ways. A total of 30, year 1 surgical residents were randomly divided into 2 groups. Besides traditional 2D computed tomography images, residents in group A (n = 15) reviewed 3D computer models, whereas in group B, residents (n = 15) reviewed 3D-printed models. Both groups subsequently completed an examination, designed in-house, to assess the appropriateness of their preoperative plan and provide a numerical score of the quality of the surgical plan. Residents in group B showed significantly higher quality of the surgical plan scores compared with residents in group A (76.4 ± 10.5 vs. 66.5 ± 11.2, p = 0.018). This difference was due in large part to a significant difference in knowledge of key surgical steps (22.1 ± 2.9 vs. 17.4 ± 4.2, p = 0.004) between each group. All participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the exercise. Results from this study support our hypothesis that 3D-printed models improve the quality of surgical trainee's preoperative plans. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Skin age testing criteria: characterization of human skin structures by 500 MHz MRI multiple contrast and image processing.

PubMed

Sharma, Rakesh

2010-07-21

Ex vivo magnetic resonance microimaging (MRM) image characteristics are reported in human skin samples in different age groups. Human excised skin samples were imaged using a custom coil placed inside a 500 MHz NMR imager for high-resolution microimaging. Skin MRI images were processed for characterization of different skin structures. Contiguous cross-sectional T1-weighted 3D spin echo MRI, T2-weighted 3D spin echo MRI and proton density images were compared with skin histopathology and NMR peaks. In all skin specimens, epidermis and dermis thickening and hair follicle size were measured using MRM. Optimized parameters TE and TR and multicontrast enhancement generated better MRI visibility of different skin components. Within high MR signal regions near to the custom coil, MRI images with short echo time were comparable with digitized histological sections for skin structures of the epidermis, dermis and hair follicles in 6 (67%) of the nine specimens. Skin % tissue composition, measurement of the epidermis, dermis, sebaceous gland and hair follicle size, and skin NMR peaks were signatures of skin type. The image processing determined the dimensionality of skin tissue components and skin typing. The ex vivo MRI images and histopathology of the skin may be used to measure the skin structure and skin NMR peaks with image processing may be a tool for determining skin typing and skin composition.

Skin age testing criteria: characterization of human skin structures by 500 MHz MRI multiple contrast and image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Rakesh

2010-07-01

Ex vivo magnetic resonance microimaging (MRM) image characteristics are reported in human skin samples in different age groups. Human excised skin samples were imaged using a custom coil placed inside a 500 MHz NMR imager for high-resolution microimaging. Skin MRI images were processed for characterization of different skin structures. Contiguous cross-sectional T1-weighted 3D spin echo MRI, T2-weighted 3D spin echo MRI and proton density images were compared with skin histopathology and NMR peaks. In all skin specimens, epidermis and dermis thickening and hair follicle size were measured using MRM. Optimized parameters TE and TR and multicontrast enhancement generated better MRI visibility of different skin components. Within high MR signal regions near to the custom coil, MRI images with short echo time were comparable with digitized histological sections for skin structures of the epidermis, dermis and hair follicles in 6 (67%) of the nine specimens. Skin % tissue composition, measurement of the epidermis, dermis, sebaceous gland and hair follicle size, and skin NMR peaks were signatures of skin type. The image processing determined the dimensionality of skin tissue components and skin typing. The ex vivo MRI images and histopathology of the skin may be used to measure the skin structure and skin NMR peaks with image processing may be a tool for determining skin typing and skin composition.

Retinal angiography with real-time speckle variance optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Xu, Jing; Han, Sherry; Balaratnasingam, Chandrakumar; Mammo, Zaid; Wong, Kevin S K; Lee, Sieun; Cua, Michelle; Young, Mei; Kirker, Andrew; Albiani, David; Forooghian, Farzin; Mackenzie, Paul; Merkur, Andrew; Yu, Dao-Yi; Sarunic, Marinko V

2015-10-01

This report describes a novel, non-invasive and label-free optical imaging technique, speckle variance optical coherence tomography (svOCT), for visualising blood flow within human retinal capillary networks. This imaging system uses a custom-built swept source OCT system operating at a line rate of 100 kHz. Real-time processing and visualisation is implemented on a consumer grade graphics processing unit. To investigate the quality of microvascular detail acquired with this device we compared images of human capillary networks acquired with svOCT and fluorescein angiography. We found that the density of capillary microvasculature acquired with this svOCT device was visibly greater than fluorescein angiography. We also found that this svOCT device had the capacity to generate en face images of distinct capillary networks that are morphologically comparable with previously published histological studies. Finally, we found that this svOCT device has the ability to non-invasively illustrate the common manifestations of diabetic retinopathy and retinal vascular occlusion. The results of this study suggest that graphics processing unit accelerated svOCT has the potential to non-invasively provide useful quantitative information about human retinal capillary networks. Therefore svOCT may have clinical and research applications for the management of retinal microvascular diseases, which are a major cause of visual morbidity worldwide. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Functional brain response to food images in successful adolescent weight losers compared with normal-weight and overweight controls.

PubMed

Jensen, Chad D; Kirwan, C Brock

2015-03-01

Research conducted with adults suggests that successful weight losers demonstrate greater activation in brain regions associated with executive control in response to viewing high-energy foods. No previous studies have examined these associations in adolescents. Functional neuroimaging was used to assess brain response to food images among groups of overweight (OW), normal-weight (NW), and successful weight-losing (SWL) adolescents. Eleven SWL, 12 NW, and 11 OW participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing images of high- and low-energy foods. When viewing high-energy food images, SWLs demonstrated greater activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) compared with OW and NW controls. Compared with NW and SWL groups, OW individuals demonstrated greater activation in the ventral striatum and anterior cingulate in response to food images. Adolescent SWLs demonstrated greater neural activation in the DLPFC compared with OW/NW controls when viewing high-energy food stimuli, which may indicate enhanced executive control. OW individuals' brain responses to food stimuli may indicate greater reward incentive processes than either SWL or NW groups. © 2015 The Obesity Society.

Hepatitis Diagnosis Using Facial Color Image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Mingjia; Guo, Zhenhua

Facial color diagnosis is an important diagnostic method in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, due to its qualitative, subjective and experi-ence-based nature, traditional facial color diagnosis has a very limited application in clinical medicine. To circumvent the subjective and qualitative problems of facial color diagnosis of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in this paper, we present a novel computer aided facial color diagnosis method (CAFCDM). The method has three parts: face Image Database, Image Preprocessing Module and Diagnosis Engine. Face Image Database is carried out on a group of 116 patients affected by 2 kinds of liver diseases and 29 healthy volunteers. The quantitative color feature is extracted from facial images by using popular digital image processing techni-ques. Then, KNN classifier is employed to model the relationship between the quantitative color feature and diseases. The results show that the method can properly identify three groups: healthy, severe hepatitis with jaundice and severe hepatitis without jaundice with accuracy higher than 73%.

The influence of filling technique on depth of tubule penetration by root canal sealer: a study using light microscopy and digital image processing.

PubMed

De Deus, Gustavo A; Gurgel-Filho, Eduardo Diogo; Maniglia-Ferreira, Cláudio; Coutinho-Filho, Tauby

2004-04-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the depth of sealer penetration into dentinal tubules by three root-filling techniques using light microscopy and digital image processing. Thirty-two maxillary central incisors were prepared. Two teeth were separated for the control group. The rest were divided into three equal groups and obturated as following--G1: lateral condensation; G2: warm vertical compaction of gutta-percha and G3: Thermafil system. Each sample was sectioned longitudinally and prepared for microscopic analysis. A sequence of photomicrographs with magnifications of X50, X200 and X500 were taken. Through digital image analysis and processing, measurements for each field were obtained. A non-parametric ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis analysis was used to determine whether there were significant differences among the groups. Significant differences between G2 and G1 (p = 0.034) and between G3 and G1 (p = 0.021) were identified. There were no significant differences between G2 and G3 (p > 0.05). The results of this research suggest that samples root-filled by thermoplasticised gutta-percha techniques lead to deeper penetration of the root canal sealer into the dentinal tubules.

Image Registration Workshop Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LeMoigne, Jacqueline (Editor)

1997-01-01

Automatic image registration has often been considered as a preliminary step for higher-level processing, such as object recognition or data fusion. But with the unprecedented amounts of data which are being and will continue to be generated by newly developed sensors, the very topic of automatic image registration has become and important research topic. This workshop presents a collection of very high quality work which has been grouped in four main areas: (1) theoretical aspects of image registration; (2) applications to satellite imagery; (3) applications to medical imagery; and (4) image registration for computer vision research.

Ultrasonic Shear Wave Elasticity Imaging (SWEI) Sequencing and Data Processing Using a Verasonics Research Scanner

PubMed Central

Deng, Yufeng; Rouze, Ned C.; Palmeri, Mark L.; Nightingale, Kathryn R.

2017-01-01

Ultrasound elasticity imaging has been developed over the last decade to estimate tissue stiffness. Shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) quantifies tissue stiffness by measuring the speed of propagating shear waves following acoustic radiation force excitation. This work presents the sequencing and data processing protocols of SWEI using a Verasonics system. The selection of the sequence parameters in a Verasonics programming script is discussed in detail. The data processing pipeline to calculate group shear wave speed (SWS), including tissue motion estimation, data filtering, and SWS estimation is demonstrated. In addition, the procedures for calibration of beam position, scanner timing, and transducer face heating are provided to avoid SWS measurement bias and transducer damage. PMID:28092508

A Web simulation of medical image reconstruction and processing as an educational tool.

PubMed

Papamichail, Dimitrios; Pantelis, Evaggelos; Papagiannis, Panagiotis; Karaiskos, Pantelis; Georgiou, Evangelos

2015-02-01

Web educational resources integrating interactive simulation tools provide students with an in-depth understanding of the medical imaging process. The aim of this work was the development of a purely Web-based, open access, interactive application, as an ancillary learning tool in graduate and postgraduate medical imaging education, including a systematic evaluation of learning effectiveness. The pedagogic content of the educational Web portal was designed to cover the basic concepts of medical imaging reconstruction and processing, through the use of active learning and motivation, including learning simulations that closely resemble actual tomographic imaging systems. The user can implement image reconstruction and processing algorithms under a single user interface and manipulate various factors to understand the impact on image appearance. A questionnaire for pre- and post-training self-assessment was developed and integrated in the online application. The developed Web-based educational application introduces the trainee in the basic concepts of imaging through textual and graphical information and proceeds with a learning-by-doing approach. Trainees are encouraged to participate in a pre- and post-training questionnaire to assess their knowledge gain. An initial feedback from a group of graduate medical students showed that the developed course was considered as effective and well structured. An e-learning application on medical imaging integrating interactive simulation tools was developed and assessed in our institution.

Serial grouping of 2D-image regions with object-based attention in humans

PubMed Central

Jeurissen, Danique; Self, Matthew W; Roelfsema, Pieter R

2016-01-01

After an initial stage of local analysis within the retina and early visual pathways, the human visual system creates a structured representation of the visual scene by co-selecting image elements that are part of behaviorally relevant objects. The mechanisms underlying this perceptual organization process are only partially understood. We here investigate the time-course of perceptual grouping of two-dimensional image-regions by measuring the reaction times of human participants and report that it is associated with the gradual spread of object-based attention. Attention spreads fastest over large and homogeneous areas and is slowed down at locations that require small-scale processing. We find that the time-course of the object-based selection process is well explained by a 'growth-cone' model, which selects surface elements in an incremental, scale-dependent manner. We discuss how the visual cortical hierarchy can implement this scale-dependent spread of object-based attention, leveraging the different receptive field sizes in distinct cortical areas. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.14320.001 PMID:27291188

Collaborative, Rapid Mapping of Water Extents During Hurricane Harvey Using Optical and Radar Satellite Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muench, R.; Jones, M.; Herndon, K. E.; Bell, J. R.; Anderson, E. R.; Markert, K. N.; Molthan, A.; Adams, E. C.; Shultz, L.; Cherrington, E. A.; Flores, A.; Lucey, R.; Munroe, T.; Layne, G.; Pulla, S. T.; Weigel, A. M.; Tondapu, G.

2017-12-01

On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor, Texas, bringing with it unprecedented amounts of rainfall and flooding. In times of natural disasters of this nature, emergency responders require timely and accurate information about the hazard in order to assess and plan for disaster response. Due to the extreme flooding impacts associated with Hurricane Harvey, delineations of water extent were crucial to inform resource deployment. Through the USGS's Hazards Data Distribution System, government and commercial vendors were able to acquire and distribute various satellite imagery to analysts to create value-added products that can be used by these emergency responders. Rapid-response water extent maps were created through a collaborative multi-organization and multi-sensor approach. One team of researchers created Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) water extent maps using modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by ESA. This group used backscatter images, pre-processed by the Alaska Satellite Facility's Hybrid Pluggable Processing Pipeline (HyP3), to identify and apply a threshold to identify water in the image. Quality control was conducted by manually examining the image and correcting for potential errors. Another group of researchers and graduate student volunteers derived water masks from high resolution DigitalGlobe and SPOT images. Through a system of standardized image processing, quality control measures, and communication channels the team provided timely and fairly accurate water extent maps to support a larger NASA Disasters Program response. The optical imagery was processed through a combination of various band thresholds by using Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Modified Normalized Water Index (MNDWI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and cloud masking. Several aspects of the pre-processing and image access were run on internal servers to expedite the provision of images to analysts who could focus on manipulating thresholds and quality control checks for maximum accuracy within the time constraints. The combined results of the radar- and optical-derived value-added products through the coordination of multiple organizations provided timely information for emergency response and recovery efforts

Collaborative, Rapid Mapping of Water Extents During Hurricane Harvey Using Optical and Radar Satellite Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muench, Rebekke; Jones, Madeline; Herndon, Kelsey; Schultz, Lori; Bell, Jordan; Anderson, Eric; Markert, Kel; Molthan, Andrew; Adams, Emily; Cherrington, Emil;

Social-Cognitive Biases in Simulated Airline Luggage Screening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Jeremy R.; Madhavan, Poomima

2011-01-01

This study illustrated how social cognitive biases affect the decision making process of air1ine luggage screeners. Participants (n = 96) performed a computer simulated task to detect hidden weapons in 200 x-ray images of passenger luggage. Participants saw each image for two (high time pressure) or six seconds (low time pressure). Participants observed pictures of the "passenger" who owns the luggage . The "pre-anchor group" answered questions about the passenger before the luggage image appeared, the "post-snchor" group answered questions after the luggage appeared, and the "no-anchor group" answered no questions. Participants either stopped or did not stop the bag. and rated their confidence in their decision. Participants under high time pressure had lower hit rates and higher false alarms, Significant differences between the pre-, no-, and post-anchor groups were based on the gender and race of the passengers. Participants had higher false alarm rates in response to male than female passengers.

The collaboration of grouping laws in vision.

PubMed

Grompone von Gioi, Rafael; Delon, Julie; Morel, Jean-Michel

2012-01-01

Gestalt theory gives a list of geometric grouping laws that could in principle give a complete account of human image perception. Based on an extensive thesaurus of clever graphical images, this theory discusses how grouping laws collaborate, and conflict toward a global image understanding. Unfortunately, as shown in the bibliographical analysis herewith, the attempts to formalize the grouping laws in computer vision and psychophysics have at best succeeded to compute individual partial structures (or partial gestalts), such as alignments or symmetries. Nevertheless, we show here that a never formalized clever Gestalt experimental procedure, the Nachzeichnung suggests a numerical set up to implement and test the collaboration of partial gestalts. The new computational procedure proposed here analyzes a digital image, and performs a numerical simulation that we call Nachtanz or Gestaltic dance. In this dance, the analyzed digital image is gradually deformed in a random way, but maintaining the detected partial gestalts. The resulting dancing images should be perceptually indistinguishable if and only if the grouping process was complete. Like the Nachzeichnung, the Nachtanz permits a visual exploration of the degrees of freedom still available to a figure after all partial groups (or gestalts) have been detected. In the new proposed procedure, instead of drawing themselves, subjects will be shown samples of the automatic Gestalt dances and required to evaluate if the figures are similar. Several numerical preliminary results with this new Gestaltic experimental setup are thoroughly discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementation of Remote 3-Dimensional Image Guided Radiation Therapy Quality Assurance for Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Clinical Trials

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

Cui Yunfeng; Galvin, James M.; Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, American College of Radiology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2013-01-01

Purpose: To report the process and initial experience of remote credentialing of three-dimensional (3D) image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) as part of the quality assurance (QA) of submitted data for Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) clinical trials; and to identify major issues resulting from this process and analyze the review results on patient positioning shifts. Methods and Materials: Image guided radiation therapy datasets including in-room positioning CT scans and daily shifts applied were submitted through the Image Guided Therapy QA Center from institutions for the IGRT credentialing process, as required by various RTOG trials. A centralized virtual environment is establishedmore » at the RTOG Core Laboratory, containing analysis tools and database infrastructure for remote review by the Physics Principal Investigators of each protocol. The appropriateness of IGRT technique and volumetric image registration accuracy were evaluated. Registration accuracy was verified by repeat registration with a third-party registration software system. With the accumulated review results, registration differences between those obtained by the Physics Principal Investigators and from the institutions were analyzed for different imaging sites, shift directions, and imaging modalities. Results: The remote review process was successfully carried out for 87 3D cases (out of 137 total cases, including 2-dimensional and 3D) during 2010. Frequent errors in submitted IGRT data and challenges in the review of image registration for some special cases were identified. Workarounds for these issues were developed. The average differences of registration results between reviewers and institutions ranged between 2 mm and 3 mm. Large discrepancies in the superior-inferior direction were found for megavoltage CT cases, owing to low spatial resolution in this direction for most megavoltage CT cases. Conclusion: This first experience indicated that remote review for 3D IGRT as part of QA for RTOG clinical trials is feasible and effective. The magnitude of registration discrepancy between institution and reviewer was presented, and the major issues were investigated to further improve this remote evaluation process.« less

Image Size Variation Influence on Corrupted and Non-viewable BMP Image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azmi, Tengku Norsuhaila T.; Azma Abdullah, Nurul; Rahman, Nurul Hidayah Ab; Hamid, Isredza Rahmi A.; Chai Wen, Chuah

2017-08-01

Image is one of the evidence component seek in digital forensics. Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format is most popular used in the Internet because JPEG files are very lossy and easy to compress that can speed up Internet transmitting processes. However, corrupted JPEG images are hard to recover due to the complexities of determining corruption point. Nowadays Bitmap (BMP) images are preferred in image processing compared to another formats because BMP image contain all the image information in a simple format. Therefore, in order to investigate the corruption point in JPEG, the file is required to be converted into BMP format. Nevertheless, there are many things that can influence the corrupting of BMP image such as the changes of image size that make the file non-viewable. In this paper, the experiment indicates that the size of BMP file influences the changes in the image itself through three conditions, deleting, replacing and insertion. From the experiment, we learnt by correcting the file size, it can able to produce a viewable file though partially. Then, it can be investigated further to identify the corruption point.

Image model: new perspective for image processing and computer vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziou, Djemel; Allili, Madjid

2004-05-01

We propose a new image model in which the image support and image quantities are modeled using algebraic topology concepts. The image support is viewed as a collection of chains encoding combination of pixels grouped by dimension and linking different dimensions with the boundary operators. Image quantities are encoded using the notion of cochain which associates values for pixels of given dimension that can be scalar, vector, or tensor depending on the problem that is considered. This allows obtaining algebraic equations directly from the physical laws. The coboundary and codual operators, which are generic operations on cochains allow to formulate the classical differential operators as applied for field functions and differential forms in both global and local forms. This image model makes the association between the image support and the image quantities explicit which results in several advantages: it allows the derivation of efficient algorithms that operate in any dimension and the unification of mathematics and physics to solve classical problems in image processing and computer vision. We show the effectiveness of this model by considering the isotropic diffusion.

A design of real time image capturing and processing system using Texas Instrument's processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Toon-Joo; Chaisorn, Lekha; Rahardja, Susanto; Gan, Woon-Seng

2007-09-01

In this work, we developed and implemented an image capturing and processing system that equipped with capability of capturing images from an input video in real time. The input video can be a video from a PC, video camcorder or DVD player. We developed two modes of operation in the system. In the first mode, an input image from the PC is processed on the processing board (development platform with a digital signal processor) and is displayed on the PC. In the second mode, current captured image from the video camcorder (or from DVD player) is processed on the board but is displayed on the LCD monitor. The major difference between our system and other existing conventional systems is that image-processing functions are performed on the board instead of the PC (so that the functions can be used for further developments on the board). The user can control the operations of the board through the Graphic User Interface (GUI) provided on the PC. In order to have a smooth image data transfer between the PC and the board, we employed Real Time Data Transfer (RTDX TM) technology to create a link between them. For image processing functions, we developed three main groups of function: (1) Point Processing; (2) Filtering and; (3) 'Others'. Point Processing includes rotation, negation and mirroring. Filter category provides median, adaptive, smooth and sharpen filtering in the time domain. In 'Others' category, auto-contrast adjustment, edge detection, segmentation and sepia color are provided, these functions either add effect on the image or enhance the image. We have developed and implemented our system using C/C# programming language on TMS320DM642 (or DM642) board from Texas Instruments (TI). The system was showcased in College of Engineering (CoE) exhibition 2006 at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and have more than 40 users tried our system. It is demonstrated that our system is adequate for real time image capturing. Our system can be used or applied for applications such as medical imaging, video surveillance, etc.

Quantitative volumetric analysis of a retinoic acid induced hypoplastic model of chick thymus, using Image-J.

PubMed

Haque, Ayesha; Khan, Muhammad Yunus

2017-09-01

To assess the total volume change in a retinoic acid-induced, hypoplastic model of a chick thymus using Image-J. This experimental study was carried out at the anatomy department of College of Physicians and Surgeons, Islamabad, Pakistan, from February 2009 to February 2010, and comprised fertilised chicken eggs. The eggs were divided into experimental group A and control group C. Group A was injected with 0.3µg of retinoic acid via yolk sac to induce a defective model of a thymus with hypoplasia. The chicks were sacrificed on embryonic day 15 and at hatching. The thymus of each animal was processed, serially sectioned and stained. The total area of each section of thymus was calculated using Image-J. This total area was summed and multiplied with the thickness of each section to obtain volume. Of the 120 eggs, there were 60(50%) in each group. Image analysis revealed a highly significant decrease in the volume of the chick thymus in the experimental group A than its matched control at the time of hatching (p=0.001). Moreover, volumetric depletion progressed with time, being substantially pronounced at hatching compared to the embryonic stage. The volume changes were significant and were effectively quantified using Image-J.

Efficient generation of discontinuity-preserving adaptive triangulations from range images.

PubMed

Garcia, Miguel Angel; Sappa, Angel Domingo

2004-10-01

This paper presents an efficient technique for generating adaptive triangular meshes from range images. The algorithm consists of two stages. First, a user-defined number of points is adaptively sampled from the given range image. Those points are chosen by taking into account the surface shapes represented in the range image in such a way that points tend to group in areas of high curvature and to disperse in low-variation regions. This selection process is done through a noniterative, inherently parallel algorithm in order to gain efficiency. Once the image has been subsampled, the second stage applies a two and one half-dimensional Delaunay triangulation to obtain an initial triangular mesh. To favor the preservation of surface and orientation discontinuities (jump and crease edges) present in the original range image, the aforementioned triangular mesh is iteratively modified by applying an efficient edge flipping technique. Results with real range images show accurate triangular approximations of the given range images with low processing times.

DICOM to print, 35-mm slides, web, and video projector: tutorial using Adobe Photoshop.

PubMed

Gurney, Jud W

2002-10-01

Preparing images for publication has dealt with film and the photographic process. With picture archiving and communications systems, many departments will no longer produce film. This will change how images are produced for publication. DICOM, the file format for radiographic images, has to be converted and then prepared for traditional publication, 35-mm slides, the newest techniques of video projection, and the World Wide Web. Tagged image file format is the common format for traditional print publication, whereas joint photographic expert group is the current file format for the World Wide Web. Each medium has specific requirements that can be met with a common image-editing program such as Adobe Photoshop (Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA). High-resolution images are required for print, a process that requires interpolation. However, the Internet requires images with a small file size for rapid transmission. The resolution of each output differs and the image resolution must be optimized to match the output of the publishing medium.

Field Geology/Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Carlton; Jakes, Petr; Jaumann, Ralf; Marshall, John; Moses, Stewart; Ryder, Graham; Saunders, Stephen; Singer, Robert

1996-01-01

The field geology/process group examined the basic operations of a terrestrial field geologist and the manner in which these operations could be transferred to a planetary lander. Four basic requirements for robotic field geology were determined: geologic content; surface vision; mobility; and manipulation. Geologic content requires a combination of orbital and descent imaging. Surface vision requirements include range, resolution, stereo, and multispectral imaging. The minimum mobility for useful field geology depends on the scale of orbital imagery. Manipulation requirements include exposing unweathered surfaces, screening samples, and bringing samples in contact with analytical instruments. To support these requirements, several advanced capabilities for future development are recommended. Capabilities include near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy, hyper-spectral imaging, multispectral microscopy, artificial intelligence in support of imaging, x ray diffraction, x ray fluorescence, and rock chipping.

Local contextual processing of abstract and meaningful real-life images in professional athletes.

PubMed

Fogelson, Noa; Fernandez-Del-Olmo, Miguel; Acero, Rafael Martín

2012-05-01

We investigated the effect of abstract versus real-life meaningful images from sports on local contextual processing in two groups of professional athletes. Local context was defined as the occurrence of a short predictive series of stimuli occurring before delivery of a target event. EEG was recorded in 10 professional basketball players and 9 professional athletes of individual sports during three sessions. In each session, a different set of visual stimuli were presented: triangles facing left, up, right, or down; four images of a basketball player throwing a ball; four images of a baseball player pitching a baseball. Stimuli consisted of 15 % targets and 85 % of equal numbers of three types of standards. Recording blocks consisted of targets preceded by randomized sequences of standards and by sequences including a predictive sequence signaling the occurrence of a subsequent target event. Subjects pressed a button in response to targets. In all three sessions, reaction times and peak P3b latencies were shorter for predicted targets compared with random targets, the last most informative stimulus of the predictive sequence induced a robust P3b, and N2 amplitude was larger for random targets compared with predicted targets. P3b and N2 peak amplitudes were larger in the professional basketball group in comparison with professional athletes of individual sports, across the three sessions. The findings of this study suggest that local contextual information is processed similarly for abstract and for meaningful images and that professional basketball players seem to allocate more attentional resources in the processing of these visual stimuli.

Digital mammography, cancer screening: Factors important for image compression

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clarke, Laurence P.; Blaine, G. James; Doi, Kunio; Yaffe, Martin J.; Shtern, Faina; Brown, G. Stephen; Winfield, Daniel L.; Kallergi, Maria

1993-01-01

The use of digital mammography for breast cancer screening poses several novel problems such as development of digital sensors, computer assisted diagnosis (CAD) methods for image noise suppression, enhancement, and pattern recognition, compression algorithms for image storage, transmission, and remote diagnosis. X-ray digital mammography using novel direct digital detection schemes or film digitizers results in large data sets and, therefore, image compression methods will play a significant role in the image processing and analysis by CAD techniques. In view of the extensive compression required, the relative merit of 'virtually lossless' versus lossy methods should be determined. A brief overview is presented here of the developments of digital sensors, CAD, and compression methods currently proposed and tested for mammography. The objective of the NCI/NASA Working Group on Digital Mammography is to stimulate the interest of the image processing and compression scientific community for this medical application and identify possible dual use technologies within the NASA centers.

Application of ultrasound processed images in space: Quanitative assessment of diffuse affectations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Poch, A.; Bru, C.; Nicolau, C.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate diffuse affectations in the liver using texture image processing techniques. Ultrasound diagnose equipments are the election of choice to be used in space environments as they are free from hazardous effects on health. However, due to the need for highly trained radiologists to assess the images, this imaging method is mainly applied on focal lesions rather than on non-focal ones. We have conducted a clinical study on 72 patients with different degrees of chronic hepatopaties and a group of control of 18 individuals. All subjects' clinical reports and results of biopsies were compared to the degree of affectation calculated by our computer system , thus validating the method. Full statistical results are given in the present paper showing a good correlation (r=0.61) between pathologist's report and analysis of the heterogenicity of the processed images from the liver. This computer system to analyze diffuse affectations may be used in-situ or via telemedicine to the ground.

Application of ultrasound processed images in space: assessing diffuse affectations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Poch, A.; Bru, C.; Nicolau, C.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate diffuse affectations in the liver using texture image processing techniques. Ultrasound diagnose equipments are the election of choice to be used in space environments as they are free from hazardous effects on health. However, due to the need for highly trained radiologists to assess the images, this imaging method is mainly applied on focal lesions rather than on non-focal ones. We have conducted a clinical study on 72 patients with different degrees of chronic hepatopaties and a group of control of 18 individuals. All subjects' clinical reports and results of biopsies were compared to the degree of affectation calculated by our computer system , thus validating the method. Full statistical results are given in the present paper showing a good correlation (r=0.61) between pathologist's report and analysis of the heterogenicity of the processed images from the liver. This computer system to analyze diffuse affectations may be used in-situ or via telemedicine to the ground.

The Writing Process: Effects of Life-Span Development on Imaging.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shock, Diane Hahn

A qualitative study focused on incubation and illumination within the act of writing to determine if life-span development affects image production during these creative, cognitive acts. Sixteen subjects of both sexes from four age groups represented major developmental stages in the life cycle. The research design provided two 90-minute sessions…

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cognitive Processing in Young Adults with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacola, Lisa M.; Byars, Anna W.; Chalfonte-Evans, Melinda; Schmithorst, Vincent J.; Hickey, Fran; Patterson, Bonnie; Hotze, Stephanie; Vannest, Jennifer; Chiu, Chung-Yiu; Holland, Scott K.; Schapiro, Mark B.

2011-01-01

The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate neural activation during a semantic-classification/object-recognition task in 13 persons with Down syndrome and 12 typically developing control participants (age range = 12-26 years). A comparison between groups suggested atypical patterns of brain activation for the…

Block randomization versus complete randomization of human perception stimuli: is there a difference?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moyer, Steve; Uhl, Elizabeth R.

2015-05-01

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) has been studying and modeling the human visual discrimination process as it pertains to military imaging systems. In order to develop sensor performance models, human observers are trained to expert levels in the identification of military vehicles. From 1998 until 2006, the experimental stimuli were block randomized, meaning that stimuli with similar difficulty levels (for example, in terms of distance from target, blur, noise, etc.) were presented together in blocks of approximately 24 images but the order of images within the block was random. Starting in 2006, complete randomization came into vogue, meaning that difficulty could change image to image. It was thought that this would provide a more statistically robust result. In this study we investigated the impact of the two types of randomization on performance in two groups of observers matched for skill to create equivalent groups. It is hypothesized that Soldiers in the Complete Randomized condition will have to shift their decision criterion more frequently than Soldiers in the Block Randomization group and this shifting is expected to impede performance so that Soldiers in the Block Randomized group perform better.

KPNO 0.9m H(alpha) Imaging Survey of ``Transforming Galaxies" in Local Galaxy Groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haines, Christopher; O'Sullivan, Ewan; Raychaudhury, Somak; Gargiulo, Adriana; Campusano, Luis

2012-02-01

We propose to use the KPNO 0.9-m telescope to obtain panoramic H(alpha) imaging of ~200 galaxies in two nearby (32, 35 Mpc) galaxy groups NGC 4261 and NGC 5353 from the CLoGS local group survey. In rich clusters ram-pressure stripping has been shown to be very effective at removing the gas contents and quenching star formation in infalling spiral galaxies. It is much less clear how galaxies are affected by the much lower ram pressures found in galaxy groups, or if other environmental processes begin to dominate. Given that >50% of galaxies in the local volume reside in groups, it is vital we gain new insights into which mechanisms drive the SFR-density relation in groups. The proposed H(alpha) imaging will allow us to resolve where star-formation is occuring in each galaxy. This can effectively discriminate between ram-pressure stripping characterized by truncated H(alpha) disks, the much gentler starvation mechanism which produces anemic spirals, and nuclear star-bursts triggered by low-velocity encounters which should be most frequent in groups.

KPNO 0.9m H(alpha) Imaging Survey of ``Transforming Galaxies'' in Local Galaxy Groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haines, Christopher; O'Sullivan, Ewan; Raychaudhury, Somak; Egami, Eiichi; Campusano, Luis

2012-08-01

We propose to use the KPNO 0.9-m telescope to obtain panoramic H(alpha) imaging of ~135 galaxies in ten nearby galaxy groups (60- 80 Mpc) from the Complete Local-Volume Groups Sample (CLoGS). In rich clusters ram-pressure stripping has been shown to be very effective at removing the gas contents and quenching star formation in infalling spiral galaxies. It is much less clear how galaxies are affected by the much lower ram pressures found in galaxy groups, or if other environmental processes begin to dominate. Given that >50% of galaxies in the local volume reside in groups, it is vital that we gain new insights into which mechanisms drive the SFR-density relation in groups. The proposed H(alpha) imaging will allow us to resolve where star-formation is occurring in each galaxy. This can effectively discriminate between ram-pressure stripping characterized by truncated H(alpha) disks, the much gentler starvation mechanism which produces anemic spirals, and nuclear starbursts triggered by low-velocity encounters and mergers which should be most frequent in groups.

Astronomical Image Processing with Hadoop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiley, K.; Connolly, A.; Krughoff, S.; Gardner, J.; Balazinska, M.; Howe, B.; Kwon, Y.; Bu, Y.

2011-07-01

In the coming decade astronomical surveys of the sky will generate tens of terabytes of images and detect hundreds of millions of sources every night. With a requirement that these images be analyzed in real time to identify moving sources such as potentially hazardous asteroids or transient objects such as supernovae, these data streams present many computational challenges. In the commercial world, new techniques that utilize cloud computing have been developed to handle massive data streams. In this paper we describe how cloud computing, and in particular the map-reduce paradigm, can be used in astronomical data processing. We will focus on our experience implementing a scalable image-processing pipeline for the SDSS database using Hadoop (http://hadoop.apache.org). This multi-terabyte imaging dataset approximates future surveys such as those which will be conducted with the LSST. Our pipeline performs image coaddition in which multiple partially overlapping images are registered, integrated and stitched into a single overarching image. We will first present our initial implementation, then describe several critical optimizations that have enabled us to achieve high performance, and finally describe how we are incorporating a large in-house existing image processing library into our Hadoop system. The optimizations involve prefiltering of the input to remove irrelevant images from consideration, grouping individual FITS files into larger, more efficient indexed files, and a hybrid system in which a relational database is used to determine the input images relevant to the task. The incorporation of an existing image processing library, written in C++, presented difficult challenges since Hadoop is programmed primarily in Java. We will describe how we achieved this integration and the sophisticated image processing routines that were made feasible as a result. We will end by briefly describing the longer term goals of our work, namely detection and classification of transient objects and automated object classification.

A Sky View of Earth From Suomi NPP

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-04-22

This composite image of southern Africa and the surrounding oceans was captured by six orbits of the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership spacecraft on April 9, 2015, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument. Tropical Cyclone Joalane can be seen over the Indian Ocean. Winds, tides and density differences constantly stir the oceans while phytoplankton continually grow and die. Orbiting radiometers such as VIIRS allows scientists to track this variability over time and contribute to better understanding of ocean processes that are beneficial to human survival on Earth. The image was created by the Ocean Biology Processing Group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Vision based tunnel inspection using non-rigid registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badshah, Amir; Ullah, Shan; Shahzad, Danish

2015-04-01

Growing numbers of long tunnels across the globe has increased the need for safety measurements and inspections of tunnels in these days. To avoid serious damages, tunnel inspection is highly recommended at regular intervals of time to find any deformations or cracks at the right time. While following the stringent safety and tunnel accessibility standards, conventional geodetic surveying using techniques of civil engineering and other manual and mechanical methods are time consuming and results in troublesome of routine life. An automatic tunnel inspection by image processing techniques using non rigid registration has been proposed. There are many other image processing methods used for image registration purposes. Most of the processes are operation of images in its spatial domain like finding edges and corners by Harris edge detection method. These methods are quite time consuming and fail for some or other reasons like for blurred or images with noise. Due to use of image features directly by these methods in the process, are known by the group, correlation by image features. The other method is featureless correlation, in which the images are converted into its frequency domain and then correlated with each other. The shift in spatial domain is the same as in frequency domain, but the processing is order faster than in spatial domain. In the proposed method modified normalized phase correlation has been used to find any shift between two images. As pre pre-processing the tunnel images i.e. reference and template are divided into small patches. All these relative patches are registered by the proposed modified normalized phase correlation. By the application of the proposed algorithm we get the pixel movement of the images. And then these pixels shifts are converted to measuring units like mm, cm etc. After the complete process if there is any shift in the tunnel at described points are located.

Healthcare provider and patient perspectives on diagnostic imaging investigations.

PubMed

Makanjee, Chandra R; Bergh, Anne-Marie; Hoffmann, Willem A

2015-05-20

Much has been written about the patient-centred approach in doctor-patient consultations. Little is known about interactions and communication processes regarding healthcare providers' and patients' perspectives on expectations and experiences of diagnostic imaging investigations within the medical encounter. Patients journey through the health system from the point of referral to the imaging investigation itself and then to the post-imaging consultation. AIM AND SETTING: To explore healthcare provider and patient perspectives on interaction and communication processes during diagnostic imaging investigations as part of their clinical journey through a healthcare complex. A qualitative study was conducted, with two phases of data collection. Twenty-four patients were conveniently selected at a public district hospital complex and were followed throughout their journey in the hospital system, from admission to discharge. The second phase entailed focus group interviews conducted with providers in the district hospital and adjacent academic hospital (medical officers and family physicians, nurses, radiographers, radiology consultants and registrars). Two main themes guided our analysis: (1) provider perspectives; and (2) patient dispositions and reactions. Golden threads that cut across these themes are interactions and communication processes in the context of expectations, experiences of the imaging investigations and the outcomes thereof. Insights from this study provide a better understanding of the complexity of the processes and interactions between providers and patients during the imaging investigations conducted as part of their clinical pathway. The interactions and communication processes are provider-patient centred when a referral for a diagnostic imaging investigation is included.

A quality-refinement process for medical imaging applications.

PubMed

Neuhaus, J; Maleike, D; Nolden, M; Kenngott, H-G; Meinzer, H-P; Wolf, I

2009-01-01

To introduce and evaluate a process for refinement of software quality that is suitable to research groups. In order to avoid constraining researchers too much, the quality improvement process has to be designed carefully. The scope of this paper is to present and evaluate a process to advance quality aspects of existing research prototypes in order to make them ready for initial clinical studies. The proposed process is tailored for research environments and therefore more lightweight than traditional quality management processes. Focus on quality criteria that are important at the given stage of the software life cycle. Usage of tools that automate aspects of the process is emphasized. To evaluate the additional effort that comes along with the process, it was exemplarily applied for eight prototypical software modules for medical image processing. The introduced process has been applied to improve the quality of all prototypes so that they could be successfully used in clinical studies. The quality refinement yielded an average of 13 person days of additional effort per project. Overall, 107 bugs were found and resolved by applying the process. Careful selection of quality criteria and the usage of automated process tools lead to a lightweight quality refinement process suitable for scientific research groups that can be applied to ensure a successful transfer of technical software prototypes into clinical research workflows.

a Region-Based Multi-Scale Approach for Object-Based Image Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavzoglu, T.; Yildiz Erdemir, M.; Tonbul, H.

2016-06-01

Within the last two decades, object-based image analysis (OBIA) considering objects (i.e. groups of pixels) instead of pixels has gained popularity and attracted increasing interest. The most important stage of the OBIA is image segmentation that groups spectrally similar adjacent pixels considering not only the spectral features but also spatial and textural features. Although there are several parameters (scale, shape, compactness and band weights) to be set by the analyst, scale parameter stands out the most important parameter in segmentation process. Estimating optimal scale parameter is crucially important to increase the classification accuracy that depends on image resolution, image object size and characteristics of the study area. In this study, two scale-selection strategies were implemented in the image segmentation process using pan-sharped Qickbird-2 image. The first strategy estimates optimal scale parameters for the eight sub-regions. For this purpose, the local variance/rate of change (LV-RoC) graphs produced by the ESP-2 tool were analysed to determine fine, moderate and coarse scales for each region. In the second strategy, the image was segmented using the three candidate scale values (fine, moderate, coarse) determined from the LV-RoC graph calculated for whole image. The nearest neighbour classifier was applied in all segmentation experiments and equal number of pixels was randomly selected to calculate accuracy metrics (overall accuracy and kappa coefficient). Comparison of region-based and image-based segmentation was carried out on the classified images and found that region-based multi-scale OBIA produced significantly more accurate results than image-based single-scale OBIA. The difference in classification accuracy reached to 10% in terms of overall accuracy.

ISLE (Image and Signal Processing LISP Environment) reference manual

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

Sherwood, R.J.; Searfus, R.M.

1990-01-01

ISLE is a rapid prototyping system for performing image and signal processing. It is designed to meet the needs of a person doing development of image and signal processing algorithms in a research environment. The image and signal processing modules in ISLE form a very capable package in themselves. They also provide a rich environment for quickly and easily integrating user-written software modules into the package. ISLE is well suited to applications in which there is a need to develop a processing algorithm in an interactive manner. It is straightforward to develop the algorithms, load it into ISLE, apply themore » algorithm to an image or signal, display the results, then modify the algorithm and repeat the develop-load-apply-display cycle. ISLE consists of a collection of image and signal processing modules integrated into a cohesive package through a standard command interpreter. ISLE developer elected to concentrate their effort on developing image and signal processing software rather than developing a command interpreter. A COMMON LISP interpreter was selected for the command interpreter because it already has the features desired in a command interpreter, it supports dynamic loading of modules for customization purposes, it supports run-time parameter and argument type checking, it is very well documented, and it is a commercially supported product. This manual is intended to be a reference manual for the ISLE functions The functions are grouped into a number of categories and briefly discussed in the Function Summary chapter. The full descriptions of the functions and all their arguments are given in the Function Descriptions chapter. 6 refs.« less

Breast cancer survivorship program: testing for cross-cultural relevance.

PubMed

Chung, Lynna K; Cimprich, Bernadine; Janz, Nancy K; Mills-Wisneski, Sharon M

2009-01-01

Taking CHARGE, a theory-based self-management program, was developed to assist women with survivorship concerns that arise after breast cancer treatment. Few such programs have been evaluated for cultural relevance with diverse groups. This study determined the utility and cultural relevance of the program for African American (AA) breast cancer survivors. Two focus groups were held with AA women (n = 13), aged 41 to 72 years, who had completed primary treatment. Focus group participants assessed the program content, format, materials, and the self-regulation process. Content analysis of audiotapes was conducted using an open, focused coding process to identify emergent themes regarding program relevance and topics requiring enhancement and/or further emphasis. Although findings indicated that the program's content was relevant to participants' experiences, AA women identified need for cultural enhancements in spirituality, self-preservation, and positive valuations of body image. Content areas requiring more emphasis included persistent fatigue, competing demands, disclosure, anticipatory guidance, and age-specific concerns about body image/sexuality. Suggested improvements to program materials included portable observation logs, additional resources, more photographs of younger AA women, vivid colors, and images depicting strength. These findings provide the basis for program enhancements to increase the utility and cultural relevance of Taking CHARGE for AA survivors and underscore the importance of evaluating interventions for racially/ethnically diverse groups.

Western Cultural Identification Explains Variations in the Objectification Model for Eating Pathology Across Australian Caucasians and Asian Women

PubMed Central

Tan, Charmain S.; Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew; Utpala, Ranjani; Yeung, Victoria Wai Lan; De Paoli, Tara; Loughan, Stephen; Krug, Isabel

2016-01-01

Objective: To assess differences in trait objectifying measures and eating pathology between Australian Caucasians and Asian women living in Australia and in Hong Kong with high and low levels of western cultural identification (WCI) and to see if exposure to objectifying images had an effect on state-objectification. A further aim was to assess using path analyses whether an extended version of the objectification model, including thin-ideal internalization, differed depending on the level of WCI. Method: A total of 424 participants comprising 162 Australian Caucasians and 262 Asians (n = 183 currently residing in Australia and n = 79 living in Hong Kong) took part in the study. Of the overall Asian sample, 133 individuals were classified as high-WCI and 129 participants as low-WCI. Participants were randomly allocated into one of two conditions, presenting either objectifying images of attractive and thin Asian and Caucasian female models (objectification group, n = 204), or showing neutral images of objects (e.g., chairs, tables; control group, n = 220). Subsequently, participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires assessing objectification processes and eating pathology. Results: Findings revealed that the Caucasian group presented with significantly higher internalization and body surveillance scores than either of the two Asian groups and also revealed higher scores on trait-self-objectification than the low-WCI Asian sample. As regards to the effects of objectifying images on state self-objectification, we found that ratings were higher after exposure to women than to control objects for all groups. Finally, multi-group analyses revealed that our revised objectification model functioned equally across the Caucasian and the high-WCI Asian group, but differed between the Caucasian and the low-WCI Asian group. Conclusion: Our findings outline that individuals with varying levels of WCI might respond differently to self-objectification processes. Levels of WCI should therefore be taken into consideration when working with women from different cultural backgrounds. PMID:27790176

Age-related changes in the activation of the intraparietal sulcus during nonsymbolic magnitude processing: an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

PubMed

Ansari, Daniel; Dhital, Bibek

2006-11-01

Numerical magnitude processing is an essential everyday skill. Functional brain imaging studies with human adults have repeatedly revealed that bilateral regions of the intraparietal sulcus are correlated with various numerical and mathematical skills. Surprisingly little, however, is known about the development of these brain representations. In the present study, we used functional neuroimaging to compare the neural correlates of nonsymbolic magnitude judgments between children and adults. Although behavioral performance was similar across groups, in comparison to the group of children the adult participants exhibited greater effects of numerical distance on the left intraparietal sulcus. Our findings are the first to reveal that even the most basic aspects of numerical cognition are subject to age-related changes in functional neuroanatomy. We propose that developmental impairments of number may be associated with atypical specialization of cortical regions underlying magnitude processing.

Crater monitoring through social media observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gialampoukidis, I.; Vrochidis, S.; Kompatsiaris, I.

2017-09-01

We have collected more than one lunar image per two days from social media observations. Each one of the collected images has been clustered into two main groups of lunar images and an additional cluster is provided (noise) with pictures that have not been assigned to any cluster. The proposed lunar image clustering process provides two classes of lunar pictures, at different zoom levels; the first showing a clear view of craters grouped into one cluster and the second demonstrating a complete view of the Moon at various phases that are correlated with the crawling date. The clustering stage is unsupervised, so new topics can be detected on-the-fly. We have provided additional sources of planetary images using crowdsourcing information, which is associated with metadata such as time, text, location, links to other users and other related posts. This content has crater information that can be fused with other planetary data to enhance crater monitoring.

Effects of naltrexone are influenced by childhood adversity during negative emotional processing in addiction recovery.

PubMed

Savulich, G; Riccelli, R; Passamonti, L; Correia, M; Deakin, J F W; Elliott, R; Flechais, R S A; Lingford-Hughes, A R; McGonigle, J; Murphy, A; Nutt, D J; Orban, C; Paterson, L M; Reed, L J; Smith, D G; Suckling, J; Tait, R; Taylor, E M; Sahakian, B J; Robbins, T W; Ersche, K D

2017-03-07

Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used in the management of alcohol dependence. Although the endogenous opioid system has been implicated in emotion regulation, the effects of mu-opioid receptor blockade on brain systems underlying negative emotional processing are not clear in addiction. Individuals meeting criteria for alcohol dependence alone (n=18, alcohol) and in combination with cocaine and/or opioid dependence (n=21, alcohol/drugs) and healthy individuals without a history of alcohol or drug dependence (n=21) were recruited. Participants were alcohol and drug abstinent before entered into this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate brain response while viewing aversive and neutral images relative to baseline on 50 mg of naltrexone and placebo. We found that naltrexone modulated task-related activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus as a function of childhood adversity (for aversive versus neutral images) in all groups. Furthermore, there was a group-by-treatment-by-condition interaction in the right amygdala, which was mainly driven by a normalization of response for aversive relative to neutral images under naltrexone in the alcohol/drugs group. We conclude that early childhood adversity is one environmental factor that influences pharmacological response to naltrexone. Pharmacotherapy with naltrexone may also have some ameliorative effects on negative emotional processing in combined alcohol and drug dependence, possibly due to alterations in endogenous opioid transmission or the kappa-opioid receptor antagonist actions of naltrexone.

Effects of naltrexone are influenced by childhood adversity during negative emotional processing in addiction recovery

PubMed Central

Savulich, G; Riccelli, R; Passamonti, L; Correia, M; Deakin, J F W; Elliott, R; Flechais, R S A; Lingford-Hughes, A R; McGonigle, J; Murphy, A; Nutt, D J; Orban, C; Paterson, L M; Reed, L J; Smith, D G; Suckling, J; Tait, R; Taylor, E M; Sahakian, B J; Robbins, T W; Ersche, K D

2017-01-01

Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used in the management of alcohol dependence. Although the endogenous opioid system has been implicated in emotion regulation, the effects of mu-opioid receptor blockade on brain systems underlying negative emotional processing are not clear in addiction. Individuals meeting criteria for alcohol dependence alone (n=18, alcohol) and in combination with cocaine and/or opioid dependence (n=21, alcohol/drugs) and healthy individuals without a history of alcohol or drug dependence (n=21) were recruited. Participants were alcohol and drug abstinent before entered into this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate brain response while viewing aversive and neutral images relative to baseline on 50 mg of naltrexone and placebo. We found that naltrexone modulated task-related activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus as a function of childhood adversity (for aversive versus neutral images) in all groups. Furthermore, there was a group-by-treatment-by-condition interaction in the right amygdala, which was mainly driven by a normalization of response for aversive relative to neutral images under naltrexone in the alcohol/drugs group. We conclude that early childhood adversity is one environmental factor that influences pharmacological response to naltrexone. Pharmacotherapy with naltrexone may also have some ameliorative effects on negative emotional processing in combined alcohol and drug dependence, possibly due to alterations in endogenous opioid transmission or the kappa-opioid receptor antagonist actions of naltrexone. PMID:28267152

Objects Grouping for Segmentation of Roads Network in High Resolution Images of Urban Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maboudi, M.; Amini, J.; Hahn, M.

2016-06-01

Updated road databases are required for many purposes such as urban planning, disaster management, car navigation, route planning, traffic management and emergency handling. In the last decade, the improvement in spatial resolution of VHR civilian satellite sensors - as the main source of large scale mapping applications - was so considerable that GSD has become finer than size of common urban objects of interest such as building, trees and road parts. This technological advancement pushed the development of "Object-based Image Analysis (OBIA)" as an alternative to pixel-based image analysis methods. Segmentation as one of the main stages of OBIA provides the image objects on which most of the following processes will be applied. Therefore, the success of an OBIA approach is strongly affected by the segmentation quality. In this paper, we propose a purpose-dependent refinement strategy in order to group road segments in urban areas using maximal similarity based region merging. For investigations with the proposed method, we use high resolution images of some urban sites. The promising results suggest that the proposed approach is applicable in grouping of road segments in urban areas.

OCT despeckling via weighted nuclear norm constrained non-local low-rank representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Chang; Zheng, Xiao; Cao, Lijuan

2017-10-01

As a non-invasive imaging modality, optical coherence tomography (OCT) plays an important role in medical sciences. However, OCT images are always corrupted by speckle noise, which can mask image features and pose significant challenges for medical analysis. In this work, we propose an OCT despeckling method by using non-local, low-rank representation with weighted nuclear norm constraint. Unlike previous non-local low-rank representation based OCT despeckling methods, we first generate a guidance image to improve the non-local group patches selection quality, then a low-rank optimization model with a weighted nuclear norm constraint is formulated to process the selected group patches. The corrupted probability of each pixel is also integrated into the model as a weight to regularize the representation error term. Note that each single patch might belong to several groups, hence different estimates of each patch are aggregated to obtain its final despeckled result. Both qualitative and quantitative experimental results on real OCT images show the superior performance of the proposed method compared with other state-of-the-art speckle removal techniques.

Thin layer imaging process for microlithography using radiation at strongly attenuated wavelengths

DOEpatents

Wheeler, David R.

2004-01-06

A method for patterning of resist surfaces which is particularly advantageous for systems having low photon flux and highly energetic, strongly attenuated radiation. A thin imaging layer is created with uniform silicon distribution in a bilayer format. An image is formed by exposing selected regions of the silylated imaging layer to radiation. The radiation incident upon the silyliated resist material results in acid generation which either catalyzes cleavage of Si--O bonds to produce moieties that are volatile enough to be driven off in a post exposure bake step or produces a resist material where the exposed portions of the imaging layer are soluble in a basic solution, thereby desilylating the exposed areas of the imaging layer. The process is self limiting due to the limited quantity of silyl groups within each region of the pattern. Following the post exposure bake step, an etching step, generally an oxygen plasma etch, removes the resist material from the de-silylated areas of the imaging layer.

Modern imaging techniques: applications in the management of acute aortic pathologies.

PubMed

Nagpal, Prashant; Khandelwal, Ashish; Saboo, Sachin S; Bathla, Girish; Steigner, Michael L; Rybicki, Frank J

2015-08-01

Acute aortic pathologies include traumatic and non-traumatic life-threatening emergencies of the aorta. Since the clinical manifestation of these entities can be non-specific and may overlap with other conditions presenting with chest pain, non-invasive imaging plays a crucial role in their rapid and accurate evaluation. The early diagnosis and accurate radiological assessment of acute aortic diseases is essential for improved clinical outcomes. Multidetector CT is the imaging modality of choice for evaluation of acute aortic diseases with MRI playing more of a problem-solving role. The management can be medical, endovascular or surgical depending upon pathology, and imaging remains an indispensable management-guiding tool. It is important to understand the pathogenesis, natural history, and imaging principles of acute aortic diseases for appropriate use of advanced imaging modalities. This understanding helps to formulate a more appropriate management and follow-up plan for optimised care of these patients. Imaging reporting pearls for day-to-day radiology as well as treatment options based on latest multidisciplinary guidelines are discussed. With newer techniques of image acquisition and processing, we are hopeful that imaging would further help in predicting aortic disease progression and assessing the haemodynamic parameters based on which decisions on management can be made. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Enterprise Imaging Governance: HIMSS-SIIM Collaborative White Paper.

PubMed

Roth, Christopher J; Lannum, Louis M; Joseph, Carol L

2016-10-01

Enterprise imaging governance is an emerging need in health enterprises today. This white paper highlights the decision-making body, framework, and process for optimal enterprise imaging governance inclusive of five areas of focus: program governance, technology governance, information governance, clinical governance, and financial governance. It outlines relevant parallels and differences when forming or optimizing imaging governance as compared with other established broad horizontal governance groups, such as for the electronic health record. It is intended for CMIOs and health informatics leaders looking to grow and govern a program to optimally capture, store, index, distribute, view, exchange, and analyze the images of their enterprise.

In-vivo and in-situ detection of atherosclerotic plaques using full-range complex-conjugate-free spectral domain optical coherence tomography in the murine carotid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Yong; Wicks, Robert; Zhang, Kang; Zhao, Mingtao; Tyler, Betty M.; Hwang, Lee; Pradilla, Gustavo; Kang, Jin U.

2013-03-01

Carotid endarterectomy is a common vascular surgical procedure which may help prevent patients' risk of having a stroke. A high resolution real-time imaging technique that can detect the position and size of vascular plaques would provide great value to reduce the risk level and increase the surgical outcome. Optical coherence tomography (OCT), as a high resolution high speed noninvasive imaging technique, was evaluated in this study. Twenty-four 24-week old apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice were divided into three groups with 8 in each. One served as the control group fed with normal diet. One served as the study group fed with high-fat diet to induce atherosclerosis. The last served as the treatment group fed with both high-fat diet and medicine to treat atherosclerosis. Full-range, complex-conjugate-free spectral-domain OCT was used to image the mouse aorta near the neck area in-vivo with aorta exposed to the imaging head through surgical procedure. 2D and 3D images of the area of interest were presented real-time through graphics processing unit accelerated algorithm. In-situ imaging of all the mice after perfusion were performed again to validate the invivo detection result and to show potential capability of OCT if combined with surgical saline flush. Later all the imaged arteries were stained with H and E to perform histology analysis. Preliminary results confirmed the accuracy and fast imaging speed of OCT imaging technique in determining atherosclerosis.

Reducing Radiation Dose in Adult Head CT using Iterative Reconstruction - A Clinical Study in 177 Patients.

PubMed

Kaul, D; Kahn, J; Huizing, L; Wiener, E; Grupp, U; Böning, G; Ghadjar, P; Renz, D M; Streitparth, F

2016-02-01

To assess how ASIR (adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction) contributes to dose reduction and affects image quality of non-contrast cranial computed tomography (cCT). Non-contrast emergency CT scans of the head acquired in 177 patients were evaluated. The scans were acquired and processed using four different protocols: Group A (control): 120 kV, FBP (filtered back projection) n = 71; group B1: 120 kV, scan and reconstruction performed with 20 % ASIR (blending of 20 % ASIR and 80 % FBP), n = 86; group B2: raw data from group B1 reconstructed using a blending of 40 % ASIR and 60 % FBP, n = 74; group C1: 120 kV, scan and reconstruction performed with 30 % ASIR, n = 20; group C2: raw data from group C1 reconstructed using a blending of 50 % ASIR and 50 % FBP, n = 20. The effective dose was calculated. Image quality was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. Compared to group A, groups B1/2 and C1/2 showed a significantly reduced effective dose of 40.4 % and 73.3 % (p < 0.0001), respectively. Group B1 and group C1/2 also showed significantly reduced quantitative and qualitative image quality parameters. In group B2, quantitative measures were comparable to group A, and qualitative scores were lower compared to group A but higher compared to group B1. Diagnostic confidence grading showed groups B1/2 to be adequate for everyday clinical practice. Group C2 was considered acceptable for follow-up imaging of severe acute events such as bleeding or subacute stroke. Use of ASIR makes it possible to reduce radiation significantly while maintaining adequate image quality in non-contrast head CT, which may be particularly useful for younger patients in an emergency setting and in follow-up. ASIR may reduce radiation significantly while maintaining adequate image quality. cCT protocol with 20 % ASIR and 40 %ASIR/60 %FBP blending is adequate for everyday clinical use. cCT protocol with 30 % ASIR and 50 %ASIR/50 %FBP blending is adequate for follow-up imaging © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Automatic differentiation of melanoma and clark nevus skin lesions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LeAnder, R. W.; Kasture, A.; Pandey, A.; Umbaugh, S. E.

2007-03-01

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Although melanoma accounts for just 11% of all types of skin cancer, it is responsible for most of the deaths, claiming more than 7910 lives annually. Melanoma is visually difficult for clinicians to differentiate from Clark nevus lesions which are benign. The application of pattern recognition techniques to these lesions may be useful as an educational tool for teaching physicians to differentiate lesions, as well as for contributing information about the essential optical characteristics that identify them. Purpose: This study sought to find the most effective features to extract from melanoma, melanoma in situ and Clark nevus lesions, and to find the most effective pattern-classification criteria and algorithms for differentiating those lesions, using the Computer Vision and Image Processing Tools (CVIPtools) software package. Methods: Due to changes in ambient lighting during the photographic process, color differences between images can occur. These differences were minimized by capturing dermoscopic images instead of photographic images. Differences in skin color between patients were minimized via image color normalization, by converting original color images to relative-color images. Relative-color images also helped minimize changes in color that occur due to changes in the photographic and digitization processes. Tumors in the relative-color images were segmented and morphologically filtered. Filtered, relative-color, tumor features were then extracted and various pattern-classification schemes were applied. Results: Experimentation resulted in four useful pattern classification methods, the best of which was an overall classification rate of 100% for melanoma and melanoma in situ (grouped) and 60% for Clark nevus. Conclusion: Melanoma and melanoma in situ have feature parameters and feature values that are similar enough to be considered one class of tumor that significantly differs from Clark nevus. Consequently, grouping melanoma and melanoma in situ together achieves the best results in classifying and automatically differentiating melanoma from Clark nevus lesions.

Images of the Heart: Archetypal Imagery in Therapeutic Artwork.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kidd, Judith; Wix, Linney

1996-01-01

Explores the "heart" image in art, myth, literature, and religion. Examines an archetypal art therapy approach to the use of the heart in the artmaking processes of two child clients seen in individual and group art therapy. Uses the historical exploration of the heart as a background against which to view personal use of the heart image…

Liquid crystal thermography and true-colour digital image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stasiek, J.; Stasiek, A.; Jewartowski, M.; Collins, M. W.

2006-06-01

In the last decade thermochromic liquid crystals (TLC) and true-colour digital image processing have been successfully used in non-intrusive technical, industrial and biomedical studies and applications. Thin coatings of TLCs at surfaces are utilized to obtain detailed temperature distributions and heat transfer rates for steady or transient processes. Liquid crystals also can be used to make visible the temperature and velocity fields in liquids by the simple expedient of directly mixing the liquid crystal material into the liquid (water, glycerol, glycol, and silicone oils) in very small quantities to use as thermal and hydrodynamic tracers. In biomedical situations e.g., skin diseases, breast cancer, blood circulation and other medical application, TLC and image processing are successfully used as an additional non-invasive diagnostic method especially useful for screening large groups of potential patients. The history of this technique is reviewed, principal methods and tools are described and some examples are also presented.

A group filter algorithm for sea mine detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, J. Tory; An, Myoung; Tolimieri, Richard

2005-06-01

Automatic detection of sea mines in coastal regions is a difficult task due to the highly variable sea bottom conditions present in the underwater environment. Detection systems must be able to discriminate objects which vary in size, shape, and orientation from naturally occurring and man-made clutter. Additionally, these automated systems must be computationally efficient to be incorporated into unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) sensor systems characterized by high sensor data rates and limited processing abilities. Using noncommutative group harmonic analysis, a fast, robust sea mine detection system is created. A family of unitary image transforms associated to noncommutative groups is generated and applied to side scan sonar image files supplied by Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City (NSWC PC). These transforms project key image features, geometrically defined structures with orientations, and localized spectral information into distinct orthogonal components or feature subspaces of the image. The performance of the detection system is compared against the performance of an independent detection system in terms of probability of detection (Pd) and probability of false alarm (Pfa).

Application of molecular imaging technology in evaluating the inhibiting effect of apigenin in vivo on subcutaneous hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Li, Gang; Chi, Chong-Wei; Shao, Xian-Fang; Fang, Chi-Hua

2017-05-20

The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibiting effect of apigenin on liver cancer in vivo based on the optical molecular imaging method. Subcutaneous liver tumor models were established using respective 1 × 10 6 firefly luciferase (fLuc) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2-fLuc and HepG2-GFP cells) in 20 BALB/c nude mice which were randomly divided into two groups, 10 in each group. After the tumor cells were implanted 15 days, apigenin was administered through intraperitoneal injection in group B, the other ten mice as control group A. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and fluorescence molecular imaging (FMI) were carried out for the follow-up of subcutaneous tumor model. As time goes on, intensity and distribution of bioluminescence and fluorescence of tumours increased gradually with the growth of tumours little by little. The whole process of observation was in accordance with known activities of HCC in the human liver. The tumor volume and tumor weight were significant lower in group B than in group A (p < 0.05), Subcutaneous tumours in the apigenin treatment group B based on BLI and FMI were significantly inhibited compared to the control group A (p < 0.05). Apigenin could be expected as a new drug to treat hepatocellular carcinoma. Optical molecular imaging technology enabled the non-invasive and reliable assessment of anti-tumor drug efficacy on liver cancer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-count PET image restoration using sparse representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Tao; Jiang, Changhui; Gao, Juan; Yang, Yongfeng; Liang, Dong; Liu, Xin; Zheng, Hairong; Hu, Zhanli

2018-04-01

In the field of positron emission tomography (PET), reconstructed images are often blurry and contain noise. These problems are primarily caused by the low resolution of projection data. Solving this problem by improving hardware is an expensive solution, and therefore, we attempted to develop a solution based on optimizing several related algorithms in both the reconstruction and image post-processing domains. As sparse technology is widely used, sparse prediction is increasingly applied to solve this problem. In this paper, we propose a new sparse method to process low-resolution PET images. Two dictionaries (D1 for low-resolution PET images and D2 for high-resolution PET images) are learned from a group real PET image data sets. Among these two dictionaries, D1 is used to obtain a sparse representation for each patch of the input PET image. Then, a high-resolution PET image is generated from this sparse representation using D2. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method exhibits a stable and superior ability to enhance image resolution and recover image details. Quantitatively, this method achieves better performance than traditional methods. This proposed strategy is a new and efficient approach for improving the quality of PET images.

75 FR 55593 - Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-13

... Behavioral Processes Integrated Review Group; Motor Function, Speech and Rehabilitation Study Section. Date... and Imaging Technologies Study Section. Date: October 7-8, 2010. Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Agenda: To... Review Group; Drug Discovery and Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Resistance Study Section. Date: October 14...

Multiple-image encryption via lifting wavelet transform and XOR operation based on compressive ghost imaging scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xianye; Meng, Xiangfeng; Yang, Xiulun; Wang, Yurong; Yin, Yongkai; Peng, Xiang; He, Wenqi; Dong, Guoyan; Chen, Hongyi

2018-03-01

A multiple-image encryption method via lifting wavelet transform (LWT) and XOR operation is proposed, which is based on a row scanning compressive ghost imaging scheme. In the encryption process, the scrambling operation is implemented for the sparse images transformed by LWT, then the XOR operation is performed on the scrambled images, and the resulting XOR images are compressed in the row scanning compressive ghost imaging, through which the ciphertext images can be detected by bucket detector arrays. During decryption, the participant who possesses his/her correct key-group, can successfully reconstruct the corresponding plaintext image by measurement key regeneration, compression algorithm reconstruction, XOR operation, sparse images recovery, and inverse LWT (iLWT). Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations validate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Imaging of thymic disorders

PubMed Central

Bogot, Naama R; Quint, Leslie E

2005-01-01

Evaluation of the thymus poses a challenge to the radiologist. In addition to age-related changes in thymic size, shape, and tissue composition, there is considerable variability in the normal adult thymic appearance within any age group. Many different types of disorders may affect the thymus, including hyperplasia, cysts, and benign and malignant neoplasms, both primary and secondary; clinical and imaging findings typical for each disease process are described in this article. Whereas computed tomography is the mainstay for imaging the thymus, other imaging modalities may occasionally provide additional structural or functional information. PMID:16361143

Aging effects on functional auditory and visual processing using fMRI with variable sensory loading.

PubMed

Cliff, Michael; Joyce, Dan W; Lamar, Melissa; Dannhauser, Thomas; Tracy, Derek K; Shergill, Sukhwinder S

2013-05-01

Traditionally, studies investigating the functional implications of age-related structural brain alterations have focused on higher cognitive processes; by increasing stimulus load, these studies assess behavioral and neurophysiological performance. In order to understand age-related changes in these higher cognitive processes, it is crucial to examine changes in visual and auditory processes that are the gateways to higher cognitive functions. This study provides evidence for age-related functional decline in visual and auditory processing, and regional alterations in functional brain processing, using non-invasive neuroimaging. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), younger (n=11; mean age=31) and older (n=10; mean age=68) adults were imaged while observing flashing checkerboard images (passive visual stimuli) and hearing word lists (passive auditory stimuli) across varying stimuli presentation rates. Younger adults showed greater overall levels of temporal and occipital cortical activation than older adults for both auditory and visual stimuli. The relative change in activity as a function of stimulus presentation rate showed differences between young and older participants. In visual cortex, the older group showed a decrease in fMRI blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal magnitude as stimulus frequency increased, whereas the younger group showed a linear increase. In auditory cortex, the younger group showed a relative increase as a function of word presentation rate, while older participants showed a relatively stable magnitude of fMRI BOLD response across all rates. When analyzing participants across all ages, only the auditory cortical activation showed a continuous, monotonically decreasing BOLD signal magnitude as a function of age. Our preliminary findings show an age-related decline in demand-related, passive early sensory processing. As stimulus demand increases, visual and auditory cortex do not show increases in activity in older compared to younger people. This may negatively impact on the fidelity of information available to higher cognitive processing. Such evidence may inform future studies focused on cognitive decline in aging. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Brain Organization of the Preparation for Visual Recognition in Preadolescent Children].

PubMed

Farber, D A; Kurganskii, A V; Petrenko, N E

2015-01-01

The brain organization of the process of preparation for the perception of incomplete images fragmented to different extents. The functional connections of ventrolateral and dorsoventral cortical zones with other zones in 10-11-year-old and 11-12-year-old children were studied at three successive stages of the preparation for the perception of incomplete images. These data were compared with those obtained for adults. In order to reveal the effect of preparatory processes on the image recognition, we also analyzed the regional event-related potentials. In adults, the functional interaction between dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and other cortical zones of the right hemisphere was found to be enhanced at the stage of waiting for not-yet-recognizable image, while in the left hemisphere the links became stronger shortly before the successful recognition of a stimulus. In children the stage-related changes in functional interactions are similar in both hemispheres, with peak of interaction activity.at the stage preceding the successful recognition. It was found that in 11-12-year-old children the ventrolateral cortex is involved in both preparatory stage and recognition processes to a smaller extent as compared with adults and 10-11-year-old children. At the same time, the group of 11-12-year-old children had more mature pattern of the dorsolateral cortex involvement, which provided more effective recognition of incomplete images in this group as compared with 10-11-year-old children. It is suggested that the features of the brain organization of visual recognition and preceding preparatory processes in 11-12-year-old children are caused by multidirectional effects of sex hormones on the functioning of different zones of the prefrontal cortex at early stages of sexual maturation.

Easily Transported CCD Systems for Use in Astronomy Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meisel, D.

1992-12-01

Relatively inexpensive CCD cameras and portable computers are now easily obtained as commercially available products. I will describe a prototype system that can be used by introductory astronomy students, even urban enviroments, to obtain useful observations of the night sky. It is based on the ST-4 CCDs made by Santa Barbara Instruments Group and Macintosh Powerbook145 computers. Students take outdoor images directly from the college campus, bring the exposures back into the lab and download the images into our networked server. These stored images can then be processed (at a later time) using a variety of image processing programs including a new astronomical version of the popular "freeware" NIH Image package that is currently under development at Geneseo. The prototype of this system will be demonstrated and available for hands-on use during the meeting. This work is supported by NSF ILI Demonstration Grant USE9250493 and Grants from SUNY-GENESEO.

Multisite two-photon imaging of neurons on multielectrode arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Steve M.; Lukina, Natalia; Longmuir, Kenneth J.; Wu, Yan

2001-04-01

We wish to understand how neural systems store, recall, and process information. We are using cultured networks of cortical neurons grown on microelectrode arrays as a model system for studying the emergent properties of ensembles of living neurons. We have developed a 2-way communication interface between the cultured network and a computer- generated animal, the Neurally Controlled Animat. Neural activity is used to control the behavior of the Animat, and 2- photon time-lapse imaging is carried out in order to observe the morphological changes that might underlie changes in neural processing. The 2-photon microscope is ideal for repeated imaging over hours or days, with submicron resolution and little photodamage. We have designed a computer-controlled microscope stage that allows imaging several locations in sequence, in order to collect more image data. For the latest progress, see: http://www.caltech.edu/~pinelab/PotterGroup.htm.

Methods and Materials for Selective Modification of Photopatterned Polymer Films.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-06-28

reactivity templates (see below) formed by patterned irradiation of polymer films. In particular, the invention describes binding materials and processes ...image of the attached functional group) or that region of the polymer film left unexposed and unchanged during the aforementioned patterning process ...invention are accomplished by the structures and processes hereinafter 15 described. An aspect of the present invention is a process for modifying a

Automated detection of exudative age-related macular degeneration in spectral domain optical coherence tomography using deep learning.

PubMed

Treder, Maximilian; Lauermann, Jost Lennart; Eter, Nicole

2018-02-01

Our purpose was to use deep learning for the automated detection of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). A total of 1112 cross-section SD-OCT images of patients with exudative AMD and a healthy control group were used for this study. In the first step, an open-source multi-layer deep convolutional neural network (DCNN), which was pretrained with 1.2 million images from ImageNet, was trained and validated with 1012 cross-section SD-OCT scans (AMD: 701; healthy: 311). During this procedure training accuracy, validation accuracy and cross-entropy were computed. The open-source deep learning framework TensorFlow™ (Google Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA) was used to accelerate the deep learning process. In the last step, a created DCNN classifier, using the information of the above mentioned deep learning process, was tested in detecting 100 untrained cross-section SD-OCT images (AMD: 50; healthy: 50). Therefore, an AMD testing score was computed: 0.98 or higher was presumed for AMD. After an iteration of 500 training steps, the training accuracy and validation accuracies were 100%, and the cross-entropy was 0.005. The average AMD scores were 0.997 ± 0.003 in the AMD testing group and 0.9203 ± 0.085 in the healthy comparison group. The difference between the two groups was highly significant (p < 0.001). With a deep learning-based approach using TensorFlow™, it is possible to detect AMD in SD-OCT with high sensitivity and specificity. With more image data, an expansion of this classifier for other macular diseases or further details in AMD is possible, suggesting an application for this model as a support in clinical decisions. Another possible future application would involve the individual prediction of the progress and success of therapy for different diseases by automatically detecting hidden image information.

Early visual processing is enhanced in the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

PubMed

Lusk, Bethany R; Carr, Andrea R; Ranson, Valerie A; Bryant, Richard A; Felmingham, Kim L

2015-12-01

Event-related potential (ERP) studies have revealed an early attentional bias in processing unpleasant emotional images in women. Recent neuroimaging data suggests there are significant differences in cortical emotional processing according to menstrual phase. This study examined the impact of menstrual phase on visual emotional processing in women compared to men. ERPs were recorded from 28 early follicular women, 29 midluteal women, and 27 men while they completed a passive viewing task of neutral and low- and high- arousing pleasant and unpleasant images. There was a significant effect of menstrual phase in early visual processing, as midluteal women displayed significantly greater P1 amplitude at occipital regions to all visual images compared to men. Both midluteal and early follicular women displayed larger N1 amplitudes than men (although this only reached significance for the midluteal group) to the visual images. No sex or menstrual phase differences were apparent in later N2, P3, or LPP. A condition effect demonstrated greater P3 and LPP amplitude to highly-arousing unpleasant images relative to all other stimuli conditions. These results indicate that women have greater early automatic visual processing compared to men, and suggests that this effect is particularly strong in women in the midluteal phase at the earliest stage of visual attention processing. Our findings highlight the importance of considering menstrual phase when examining sex differences in the cortical processing of visual stimuli. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facial Asymmetry-Based Age Group Estimation: Role in Recognizing Age-Separated Face Images.

PubMed

Sajid, Muhammad; Taj, Imtiaz Ahmad; Bajwa, Usama Ijaz; Ratyal, Naeem Iqbal

2018-04-23

Face recognition aims to establish the identity of a person based on facial characteristics. On the other hand, age group estimation is the automatic calculation of an individual's age range based on facial features. Recognizing age-separated face images is still a challenging research problem due to complex aging processes involving different types of facial tissues, skin, fat, muscles, and bones. Certain holistic and local facial features are used to recognize age-separated face images. However, most of the existing methods recognize face images without incorporating the knowledge learned from age group estimation. In this paper, we propose an age-assisted face recognition approach to handle aging variations. Inspired by the observation that facial asymmetry is an age-dependent intrinsic facial feature, we first use asymmetric facial dimensions to estimate the age group of a given face image. Deeply learned asymmetric facial features are then extracted for face recognition using a deep convolutional neural network (dCNN). Finally, we integrate the knowledge learned from the age group estimation into the face recognition algorithm using the same dCNN. This integration results in a significant improvement in the overall performance compared to using the face recognition algorithm alone. The experimental results on two large facial aging datasets, the MORPH and FERET sets, show that the proposed age group estimation based on the face recognition approach yields superior performance compared to some existing state-of-the-art methods. © 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

The location of Airy-0, the Mars prime meridian reference, from stereo photogrammetric processing of THEMIS IR imaging and digital elevation data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duxbury, T. C.; Christensen, P.; Smith, D. E.; Neumann, G. A.; Kirk, R. L.; Caplinger, M. A.; Albee, A. A.; Seregina, N. V.; Neukum, G.; Archinal, B. A.

2014-12-01

The small crater Airy-0 was selected from Mariner 9 images to be the reference for the Mars prime meridian. Initial analyses in the year 2000 tied Viking Orbiter and Mars Orbiter Camera images of Airy-0 to the evolving Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter global digital terrain model to update the location of Airy-0. Based upon this tie and radiometric tracking of landers/rovers from Earth, new expressions for the Mars spin axis direction, spin rate, and prime meridian epoch value were produced to define the orientation of the Martian surface in inertial space over time. Since the Mars Global Surveyor mission and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter global digital terrain model were completed some time ago, a more exhaustive study has been performed to determine the accuracy of the Airy-0 location and orientation of Mars at the standard epoch. Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) IR image cubes of the Airy and Gale crater regions were tied to the global terrain grid using precision stereo photogrammetric image processing techniques. The Airy-0 location was determined to be about 0.001° east of its predicted location using the currently defined International Astronomical Union (IAU) prime meridian location. Information on this new location and how it was derived will be provided to the NASA Mars Exploration Program Geodesy and Cartography Working Group for their assessment. This NASA group will make a recommendation to the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements to update the expression for the Mars spin axis direction, spin rate, and prime meridian location.

Visual Information Processing for Television and Telerobotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huck, Friedrich O. (Editor); Park, Stephen K. (Editor)

1989-01-01

This publication is a compilation of the papers presented at the NASA conference on Visual Information Processing for Television and Telerobotics. The conference was held at the Williamsburg Hilton, Williamsburg, Virginia on May 10 to 12, 1989. The conference was sponsored jointly by NASA Offices of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) and Space Science and Applications (OSSA) and the NASA Langley Research Center. The presentations were grouped into three sessions: Image Gathering, Coding, and Advanced Concepts; Systems; and Technologies. The program was organized to provide a forum in which researchers from industry, universities, and government could be brought together to discuss the state of knowledge in image gathering, coding, and processing methods.

The Role of Star Formation in Radio-Loud Galaxy Groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbst, Hanna; Wilcots, E.; Hess, K.

2010-01-01

X-ray observations have shown that additional non-gravitational processes are required to explain the heating of the intergalactic medium in galaxy groups. The two most likely processes are galactic outflows from starbursts and feedback from AGN. Here, we look at star formation as a possible additional heating mechanism in X-ray luminous groups such as NGC 741, NGC 1052, NGC 524, and NGC 1587. We report on the results of optical imaging of these groups carried out using the WIYN 3.5m telescope with a specific emphasis on measuring the star formation rates of the resident galaxies in each group and estimating the impact of that star formation on the thermodynamics of the intragroup medium.

High speed measurement of corn seed viability using hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambrose, Ashabahebwa; Kandpal, Lalit Mohan; Kim, Moon S.; Lee, Wang-Hee; Cho, Byoung-Kwan

2016-03-01

Corn is one of the most cultivated crops all over world as food for humans as well as animals. Optimized agronomic practices and improved technological interventions during planting, harvesting and post-harvest handling are critical to improving the quantity and quality of corn production. Seed germination and vigor are the primary determinants of high yield notwithstanding any other factors that may play during the growth period. Seed viability may be lost during storage due to unfavorable conditions e.g. moisture content and temperatures, or physical damage during mechanical processing e.g. shelling, or over heating during drying. It is therefore vital for seed companies and farmers to test and ascertain seed viability to avoid losses of any kind. This study aimed at investigating the possibility of using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technique to discriminate viable and nonviable corn seeds. A group of corn samples were heat treated by using microwave process while a group of seeds were kept as control group (untreated). The hyperspectral images of corn seeds of both groups were captured between 400 and 2500 nm wave range. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was built for the classification of aged (heat treated) and normal (untreated) corn seeds. The model showed highest classification accuracy of 97.6% (calibration) and 95.6% (prediction) in the SWIR region of the HSI. Furthermore, the PLS-DA and binary images were capable to provide the visual information of treated and untreated corn seeds. The overall results suggest that HSI technique is accurate for classification of viable and non-viable seeds with non-destructive manner.

Negative emotion evoked by viewing snakes has a motivating effect on cognitive processing in human children with or without intellectual disability.

PubMed

Masataka, Nobuo

2017-06-01

It is well known that prioritization of the processing of threatening stimuli generally induces deleterious effects on task performance. However, a study recently reported that emotion (possibly fear) evoked by viewing images of snakes exerts a facilitating effect upon making judgments of the images' color in neurotypical adults and schoolchildren. Here, the author has attempted to confirm the relevance of this notion in children with and without intellectual disability. The author here compared the reaction time required to name the colors of snake and flower images between children with Down syndrome (DS) and mental age matched, typically-developing (TD) children. Snake images were responded to faster than flower images in both the groups, while the children with DS tended to respond more slowly overall. As in TD children, negative emotion can have a motivating effect on cognitive processing in children with DS. Some implications of the findings are pointed out with respect to the lower-level task persistence as a characteristic motivational orientation in children with DS.

Brain function differences in language processing in children and adults with autism.

PubMed

Williams, Diane L; Cherkassky, Vladimir L; Mason, Robert A; Keller, Timothy A; Minshew, Nancy J; Just, Marcel Adam

2013-08-01

Comparison of brain function between children and adults with autism provides an understanding of the effects of the disorder and associated maturational differences on language processing. Functional imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) was used to examine brain activation and cortical synchronization during the processing of literal and ironic texts in 15 children with autism, 14 children with typical development, 13 adults with autism, and 12 adult controls. Both the children and adults with autism had lower functional connectivity (synchronization of brain activity among activated areas) than their age and ability comparison group in the left hemisphere language network during irony processing, and neither autism group had an increase in functional connectivity in response to increased task demands. Activation differences for the literal and irony conditions occurred in key language-processing regions (left middle temporal, left pars triangularis, left pars opercularis, left medial frontal, and right middle temporal). The children and adults with autism differed from each other in the use of some brain regions during the irony task, with the adults with autism having activation levels similar to those of the control groups. Overall, the children and adults with autism differed from the adult and child controls in (a) the degree of network coordination, (b) the distribution of the workload among member nodes, and (3) the dynamic recruitment of regions in response to text content. Moreover, the differences between the two autism age groups may be indicative of positive changes in the neural function related to language processing associated with maturation and/or educational experience. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brain Function Differences in Language Processing in Children and Adults with Autism

PubMed Central

Williams, Diane L.; Cherkassky, Vladimir L.; Mason, Robert A.; Keller, Timothy A.; Minshew, Nancy J.; Just, Marcel Adam

2015-01-01

Comparison of brain function between children and adults with autism provides an understanding of the effects of the disorder and associated maturational differences on language processing. Functional imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) was used to examine brain activation and cortical synchronization during the processing of literal and ironic texts in 15 children with autism, 14 children with typical development, 13 adults with autism, and 12 adult controls. Both the children and adults with autism had lower functional connectivity (synchronization of brain activity among activated areas) than their age and ability comparison group in the left hemisphere language network during irony processing, and neither autism group had an increase in functional connectivity in response to increased task demands. Activation differences for the literal and irony conditions occurred in key language-processing regions (left middle temporal, left pars triangularis, left pars opercularis, left medial frontal, and right middle temporal). The children and adults with autism differed from each other in the use of some brain regions during the irony task, with the adults with autism having activation levels similar to those of the control groups. Overall, the children and adults with autism differed from the adult and child controls in (a) the degree of network coordination, (b) the distribution of the workload among member nodes, and (3) the dynamic recruitment of regions in response to text content. Moreover, the differences between the two autism age groups may be indicative of positive changes in the neural function related to language processing associated with maturation and/or educational experience. PMID:23495230

Advantages and Disadvantages in Image Processing with Free Software in Radiology.

PubMed

Mujika, Katrin Muradas; Méndez, Juan Antonio Juanes; de Miguel, Andrés Framiñan

2018-01-15

Currently, there are sophisticated applications that make it possible to visualize medical images and even to manipulate them. These software applications are of great interest, both from a teaching and a radiological perspective. In addition, some of these applications are known as Free Open Source Software because they are free and the source code is freely available, and therefore it can be easily obtained even on personal computers. Two examples of free open source software are Osirix Lite® and 3D Slicer®. However, this last group of free applications have limitations in its use. For the radiological field, manipulating and post-processing images is increasingly important. Consequently, sophisticated computing tools that combine software and hardware to process medical images are needed. In radiology, graphic workstations allow their users to process, review, analyse, communicate and exchange multidimensional digital images acquired with different image-capturing radiological devices. These radiological devices are basically CT (Computerised Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), PET (Positron Emission Tomography), etc. Nevertheless, the programs included in these workstations have a high cost which always depends on the software provider and is always subject to its norms and requirements. With this study, we aim to present the advantages and disadvantages of these radiological image visualization systems in the advanced management of radiological studies. We will compare the features of the VITREA2® and AW VolumeShare 5® radiology workstation with free open source software applications like OsiriX® and 3D Slicer®, with examples from specific studies.

Anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder are associated with abnormalities in processing visual information.

PubMed

Li, W; Lai, T M; Bohon, C; Loo, S K; McCurdy, D; Strober, M; Bookheimer, S; Feusner, J

2015-07-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are characterized by distorted body image and are frequently co-morbid with each other, although their relationship remains little studied. While there is evidence of abnormalities in visual and visuospatial processing in both disorders, no study has directly compared the two. We used two complementary modalities--event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)--to test for abnormal activity associated with early visual signaling. We acquired fMRI and ERP data in separate sessions from 15 unmedicated individuals in each of three groups (weight-restored AN, BDD, and healthy controls) while they viewed images of faces and houses of different spatial frequencies. We used joint independent component analyses to compare activity in visual systems. AN and BDD groups demonstrated similar hypoactivity in early secondary visual processing regions and the dorsal visual stream when viewing low spatial frequency faces, linked to the N170 component, as well as in early secondary visual processing regions when viewing low spatial frequency houses, linked to the P100 component. Additionally, the BDD group exhibited hyperactivity in fusiform cortex when viewing high spatial frequency houses, linked to the N170 component. Greater activity in this component was associated with lower attractiveness ratings of faces. Results provide preliminary evidence of similar abnormal spatiotemporal activation in AN and BDD for configural/holistic information for appearance- and non-appearance-related stimuli. This suggests a common phenotype of abnormal early visual system functioning, which may contribute to perceptual distortions.

A method to optimize the processing algorithm of a computed radiography system for chest radiography.

PubMed

Moore, C S; Liney, G P; Beavis, A W; Saunderson, J R

2007-09-01

A test methodology using an anthropomorphic-equivalent chest phantom is described for the optimization of the Agfa computed radiography "MUSICA" processing algorithm for chest radiography. The contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the lung, heart and diaphragm regions of the phantom, and the "system modulation transfer function" (sMTF) in the lung region, were measured using test tools embedded in the phantom. Using these parameters the MUSICA processing algorithm was optimized with respect to low-contrast detectability and spatial resolution. Two optimum "MUSICA parameter sets" were derived respectively for maximizing the CNR and sMTF in each region of the phantom. Further work is required to find the relative importance of low-contrast detectability and spatial resolution in chest images, from which the definitive optimum MUSICA parameter set can then be derived. Prior to this further work, a compromised optimum MUSICA parameter set was applied to a range of clinical images. A group of experienced image evaluators scored these images alongside images produced from the same radiographs using the MUSICA parameter set in clinical use at the time. The compromised optimum MUSICA parameter set was shown to produce measurably better images.

Real time diffuse reflectance polarisation spectroscopy imaging to evaluate skin microcirculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Doherty, Jim; Henricson, Joakim; Nilsson, Gert E.; Anderson, Chris; Leahy, Martin J.

2007-07-01

This article describes the theoretical development and design of a real-time microcirculation imaging system, an extension from a previously technology developed by our group. The technology utilises polarisation spectroscopy, a technique used in order to selectively gate photons returning from various compartments of human skin tissue, namely from the superficial layers of the epidermis, and the deeper backscattered light from the dermal matrix. A consumer-end digital camcorder captures colour data with three individual CCDs, and a custom designed light source consisting of a 24 LED ring light provides broadband illumination over the 400 nm - 700 nm wavelength region. Theory developed leads to an image processing algorithm, the output of which scales linearly with increasing red blood cell (RBC) concentration. Processed images are displayed online in real-time at a rate of 25 frames s -1, at a frame size of 256 x 256 pixels, and is limited only by computer RAM memory and processing speed. General demonstrations of the technique in vivo display several advantages over similar technology.

Singular structure of Mueller matrices images of biological crystal networks for diagnostic human tissues pathological changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakhnovskiy, M. Y.; Ushenko, V. A.

2013-09-01

The process of converting of laser radiation by optically anisotropic crystals of biological networks are singular in the sense of total (simultaneous) of mechanisms of orientation and phase (birefringence) anisotropy the formation of polarization-inhomogeneous field of scattered radiation. This work is aimed at developing a method of polarization selection mechanisms of blood plasma polycrystalline networks anisotropy. The relationship between statistics, correlation and fractal parameters of polarization-inhomogeneous images of blood plasma and by linear dichroism and linear birefringence of polycrystalline networks albumin and globulin was found. The criteria of differentiation and diagnostic images of polarization-inhomogeneous plasma samples of the control group (donor) and a group of patients with malignant changes of breast tissue was identified.

Image processing for cryogenic transmission electron microscopy of symmetry-mismatched complexes.

PubMed

Huiskonen, Juha T

2018-02-08

Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) is a high-resolution biological imaging method, whereby biological samples, such as purified proteins, macromolecular complexes, viral particles, organelles and cells, are embedded in vitreous ice preserving their native structures. Due to sensitivity of biological materials to the electron beam of the microscope, only relatively low electron doses can be applied during imaging. As a result, the signal arising from the structure of interest is overpowered by noise in the images. To increase the signal-to-noise ratio, different image processing-based strategies that aim at coherent averaging of signal have been devised. In such strategies, images are generally assumed to arise from multiple identical copies of the structure. Prior to averaging, the images must be grouped according to the view of the structure they represent and images representing the same view must be simultaneously aligned relatively to each other. For computational reconstruction of the three-dimensional structure, images must contain different views of the original structure. Structures with multiple symmetry-related substructures are advantageous in averaging approaches because each image provides multiple views of the substructures. However, the symmetry assumption may be valid for only parts of the structure, leading to incoherent averaging of the other parts. Several image processing approaches have been adapted to tackle symmetry-mismatched substructures with increasing success. Such structures are ubiquitous in nature and further computational method development is needed to understanding their biological functions. ©2018 The Author(s).

Mastering moral misery: Emotional and coping responses to intragroup morality (vs. competence) evaluations.

PubMed

van der Lee, Romy; Ellemers, Naomi; Scheepers, Daan

2016-01-01

In social groups, individuals are often confronted with evaluations of their behaviour by other group members and are motivated to adapt their own behaviour accordingly. In two studies we examine emotional responses towards, and perceived coping abilities with, morality vs. competence evaluations individuals receive from other in-group members. In Study 1, we show that evaluations of one's immoral behaviour primarily induce guilt, whereas evaluations of incompetent behaviour raise anger. In Study 2, we elaborate on the psychological process associated with these emotional responses, and demonstrate that evaluations of immorality, compared to incompetence, diminish group members' perceived coping abilities, which in turn intensifies feelings of guilt. However, when anticipating an opportunity to restore one's self-image as a moral group member, perceived coping abilities are increased and the experience of guilt is alleviated. Together these studies demonstrate how group members can overcome their moral misery when restoring their self-image.

Visualization of children's mathematics solving process using near infrared spectroscopic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuroda, Yasufumi; Okamoto, Naoko; Chance, Britton; Nioka, Shoko; Eda, Hideo; Maesako, Takanori

2009-02-01

Over the past decade, the application of results from brain science research to education research has been a controversial topic. A NIRS imaging system shows images of Hb parameters in the brain. Measurements using NIRS are safe, easy and the equipment is portable, allowing subjects to tolerate longer research periods. The purpose of this research is to examine the characteristics of Hb using NIRS at the moment of understanding. We measured Hb in the prefrontal cortex of children while they were solving mathematical problems (tangram puzzles). As a result of the experiment, we were able to classify the children into three groups based on their solution methods. Hb continually increased in a group which could not develop a problem solving strategy for the tangram puzzles. Hb declined steadily for a group which was able to develop a strategy for the tangram puzzles. Hb was steady for a certain group that had already developed a strategy before solving the problems. Our experiments showed that the brain data from NIRS enables the visualization of children's mathematical solution processes.

Engraving Print Classification

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

Hoelck, Daniel; Barbe, Joaquim

2008-04-15

A print is a mark, or drawing, made in or upon a plate, stone, woodblock or other material which is cover with ink and then is press usually into a paper reproducing the image on the paper. Engraving prints usually are image composed of a group of binary lines, specially those are made with relief and intaglio techniques. Varying the number and the orientation of lines, the drawing of the engraving print is conformed. For this reason we propose an application based on image processing methods to classify engraving prints.

Targeted functional imaging of estrogen receptors with 99mTc-GAP-EDL.

PubMed

Takahashi, Nobukazu; Yang, David J; Kohanim, Saady; Oh, Chang-Sok; Yu, Dong-Fang; Azhdarinia, Ali; Kurihara, Hiroaki; Zhang, Xiaochun; Chang, Joe Y; Kim, E Edmund

2007-03-01

To evaluate the feasibility of using (99m)Tc-glutamate peptide-estradiol in functional imaging of estrogen receptor-positive [ER(+)] diseases. 3-Aminoethyl estradiol (EDL) was conjugated to glutamate peptide (GAP) to yield GAP-EDL. Cellular uptake studies of (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL were conducted in ER(+) cell lines (MCF-7, 13762 and T47D). To demonstrate whether GAP-EDL increases MAP kinase activation, Western blot analysis of GAP-EDL was performed in 13762 cells. Biodistribution was conducted in nine rats with 13762 breast tumors at 0.5-4 h. Each rat was administered (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL. Two animal models (rats and rabbits) were created to ascertain whether tumor uptake of (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL was via an ER-mediated process. In the tumor model, breast tumor-bearing rats were pretreated with diethylstilbestrol (DES) 1 h prior to receiving (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL. In the endometriosis model, part of the rabbit uterine tissue was dissected and grafted to the peritoneal wall. The rabbit was administered with (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL. There was a 10-40% reduction in uptake of (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL in cells treated with DES or tamoxifen compared with untreated cells. Western blot analysis showed an ERK1/2 phosphorylation process with GAP-EDL. Biodistribution studies showed that tumor uptake and tumor-to-muscle count density ratio in (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL groups were significantly higher than those in (99m)Tc-GAP groups at 4 h. Among (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL groups, region of interest analysis of images showed that tumor-to muscle ratios were decreased in blocking groups. In the endometriosis model, the grafted uterine tissue could be visualized by (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL. Cellular or tumor uptake of (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL occurs via an ER-mediated process. (99m)Tc-GAP-EDL is a useful agent for imaging functional ER(+) disease.

Disgust evoked by strong wormwood bitterness influences the processing of visual food cues in women: An ERP study.

PubMed

Schwab, Daniela; Giraldo, Matteo; Spiegl, Benjamin; Schienle, Anne

2017-01-01

The perception of intense bitterness is associated with disgust and food rejection. The present cross-modal event-related potential (ERP) study investigated whether a bitter aftertaste is able to influence affective ratings and the neuronal processing of visual food cues. We presented 39 healthy normal-weight women (mean age: 22.5 years) with images depicting high-caloric meat dishes, high-caloric sweets, and low-caloric vegetables after they had either rinsed their mouth with wormwood tea (bitter group; n = 20) or water (control group; n = 19) for 30s. The bitter aftertaste of wormwood enhanced fronto-central early potentials (N100, N200) and reduced P300 amplitudes for all food types (meat, sweets, vegetables). Moreover, meat and sweets elicited higher fronto-central LPPs than vegetables in the water group. This differentiation was absent in the bitter group, which gave lower arousal ratings for the high-caloric food. We found that a minor intervention ('bitter rinse') was sufficient to induce changes in the neuronal processing of food images reflecting increased early attention (N100, N200) as well as reduced affective value (P300, LPP). Future studies should investigate whether this intervention is able to influence eating behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Post-Mortem Magnetic Resonance Imaging Appearances of Feticide in Perinatal Deaths.

PubMed

Shelmerdine, Susan C; Hickson, Melissa; Sebire, Neil J; Arthurs, Owen J

2018-06-06

The aim of this study was to characterise the imaging features seen in fetuses having undergone feticide by intracardiac potassium chloride injection compared to those of non-terminated fetuses at post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMRI). A case-control study was performed comparing PMMRI findings between two groups of patients - those having undergone feticide were matched to a control group of miscarried/stillborn fetuses. The groups were matched according to gestational age, weight, and time since death. Two independent readers reviewed the PMMRI for thoracic, abdominal, and musculoskeletal imaging features. The Fishers exact test was conducted for differences between the patient groups. Twenty-six cases of feticide (mean gestation 25 weeks [20-36]) and 75 non-terminated fetuses (mean gestation 26.7 weeks [19-36]) were compared. There was a higher proportion of feticide cases demonstrating pneumothorax (23.1 vs. 1.3%, p = 0.001), haemothorax (42.3 vs. 4%, p = 0.001), pneumopericardium (30.8 vs. 5.3%, p = 0.002), and haemopericardium (34.6 vs. 0%, p = 0.0001). Intracardiac gas and intra-abdominal findings were higher in the feticide group, but the differences were not statistically significant. Characteristic PMMRI features of feticide can help improve reporter confidence in differentiating iatrogenic from physiological/pathological processes. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Identifying attentional bias and emotional response after appearance-related stimuli exposure.

PubMed

Cho, Ara; Kwak, Soo-Min; Lee, Jang-Han

2013-01-01

The effect of media images has been regarded as a significant variable in the construction or in the activation of body images. Individuals who have a negative body image use avoidance coping strategies to minimize damage to their body image. We identified attentional biases and negative emotional responses following exposure to body stimuli. Female university students were divided into two groups based on their use of avoidance coping strategies (high-level group: high avoidance [HA]; low-group: low avoidance [LA]), and were assigned to two different conditions (exposure to thin body pictures, ET, and exposure to oversized body pictures, EO). Results showed that the HA group paid more attention to slim bodies and reported more negative emotions than the LA group, and that the EO had more negative effects than the ET. We suggest that HAs may attend more to slim bodies as a way of avoiding overweight bodies, influenced by social pressure, and in the search for a compensation of a positive emotional balance. However, attentional bias toward slim bodies can cause an upward comparison process, leading to increased body dissatisfaction, which is the main factor in the development of eating disorders (EDs). Therefore, altering avoidance coping strategies should be considered for people at risk of EDs.

Images of older people in UK magazine advertising: toward a typology.

PubMed

Williams, Angie; Wadleigh, Paul Mark; Ylänne, Virpi

2010-01-01

The use of images of older people in the British advertising media has been under-researched to date. Further, previous research in any country has tended to examine such images from an a priori framework of general impressions and stereotypes of older people. This study addresses these issues with British consumers' (n = 106) impressions, trait ascriptions, and similarity-between-images ratings of a representative sample of U.K. magazine advertisements featuring older characters. After a series of sorting task laboratory sessions, multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses revealed four clearly defined groups representing types of portrayals. These types emerged from the advertisements and from the views of the consumers themselves. These emergent groupings are: (1) Frail and Vulnerable, (2) Happy and Affluent, (3) Mentors, (4) Active and Leisure-oriented older adults. These groupings seem to be a logical context-appropriate derivation from previous findings on generally held stereotypes of older persons. It is argued that the groupings have the potential to contribute to a reliable typology of advertising portrayals of older people, with potential heuristic leverage in social scientific research of intergenerational communication, lifespan concerns, and the aging process.

Abnormalities in the Visual Processing of Viewing Complex Visual Stimuli Amongst Individuals With Body Image Concern.

PubMed

Duncum, A J F; Atkins, K J; Beilharz, F L; Mundy, M E

2016-01-01

Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and clinically concerning body-image concern (BIC) appear to possess abnormalities in the way they perceive visual information in the form of a bias towards local visual processing. As inversion interrupts normal global processing, forcing individuals to process locally, an upright-inverted stimulus discrimination task was used to investigate this phenomenon. We examined whether individuals with nonclinical, yet high levels of BIC would show signs of this bias, in the form of reduced inversion effects (i.e., increased local processing). Furthermore, we assessed whether this bias appeared for general visual stimuli or specifically for appearance-related stimuli, such as faces and bodies. Participants with high-BIC (n = 25) and low-BIC (n = 30) performed a stimulus discrimination task with upright and inverted faces, scenes, objects, and bodies. Unexpectedly, the high-BIC group showed an increased inversion effect compared to the low-BIC group, indicating perceptual abnormalities may not be present as local processing biases, as originally thought. There was no significant difference in performance across stimulus types, signifying that any visual processing abnormalities may be general rather than appearance-based. This has important implications for whether visual processing abnormalities are predisposing factors for BDD or develop throughout the disorder.

Scaling of Counter-Current Imbibition Process in Low-Permeability Porous Media, TR-121

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

Kvoscek, A.R.; Zhou, D.; Jia, L.

2001-01-17

This project presents the recent work on imaging imbibition in low permeability porous media (diatomite) with X-ray completed tomography. The viscosity ratio between nonwetting and wetting fluids is varied over several orders of magnitude yielding different levels of imbibition performance. Also performed is mathematical analysis of counter-current imbibition processes and development of a modified scaling group incorporating the mobility ratio. This modified group is physically based and appears to improve scaling accuracy of countercurrent imbibition significantly.

Magnetic resonance neurography and diffusion tensor imaging: origins, history, and clinical impact of the first 50,000 cases with an assessment of efficacy and utility in a prospective 5000-patient study group.

PubMed

Filler, Aaron

2009-10-01

Methods were invented that made it possible to image peripheral nerves in the body and to image neural tracts in the brain. The history, physical basis, and dyadic tensor concept underlying the methods are reviewed. Over a 15-year period, these techniques-magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) and diffusion tensor imaging-were deployed in the clinical and research community in more than 2500 published research reports and applied to approximately 50,000 patients. Within this group, approximately 5000 patients having MRN were carefully tracked on a prospective basis. A uniform Neurography imaging methodology was applied in the study group, and all images were reviewed and registered by referral source, clinical indication, efficacy of imaging, and quality. Various classes of image findings were identified and subjected to a variety of small targeted prospective outcome studies. Those findings demonstrated to be clinically significant were then tracked in the larger clinical volume data set. MRN demonstrates mechanical distortion of nerves, hyperintensity consistent with nerve irritation, nerve swelling, discontinuity, relations of nerves to masses, and image features revealing distortion of nerves at entrapment points. These findings are often clinically relevant and warrant full consideration in the diagnostic process. They result in specific pathological diagnoses that are comparable to electrodiagnostic testing in clinical efficacy. A review of clinical outcome studies with diffusion tensor imaging also shows convincing utility. MRN and diffusion tensor imaging neural tract imaging have been validated as indispensable clinical diagnostic methods that provide reliable anatomic pathological information. There is no alternative diagnostic method in many situations. With the elapsing of 15 years, tens of thousands of imaging studies, and thousands of publications, these methods should no longer be considered experimental.

Electronic photography at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holm, Jack M.

1994-01-01

The field of photography began a metamorphosis several years ago which promises to fundamentally change how images are captured, transmitted, and output. At this time the metamorphosis is still in the early stages, but already new processes, hardware, and software are allowing many individuals and organizations to explore the entry of imaging into the information revolution. Exploration at this time is prerequisite to leading expertise in the future, and a number of branches at LaRC have ventured into electronic and digital imaging. Their progress until recently has been limited by two factors: the lack of an integrated approach and the lack of an electronic photographic capability. The purpose of the research conducted was to address these two items. In some respects, the lack of electronic photographs has prevented application of an integrated imaging approach. Since everything could not be electronic, the tendency was to work with hard copy. Over the summer, the Photographics Section has set up an Electronic Photography Laboratory. This laboratory now has the capability to scan film images, process the images, and output the images in a variety of forms. Future plans also include electronic capture capability. The current forms of image processing available include sharpening, noise reduction, dust removal, tone correction, color balancing, image editing, cropping, electronic separations, and halftoning. Output choices include customer specified electronic file formats which can be output on magnetic or optical disks or over the network, 4400 line photographic quality prints and transparencies to 8.5 by 11 inches, and 8000 line film negatives and transparencies to 4 by 5 inches. The problem of integrated imaging involves a number of branches at LaRC including Visual Imaging, Research Printing and Publishing, Data Visualization and Animation, Advanced Computing, and various research groups. These units must work together to develop common approaches to image processing and archiving. The ultimate goal is to be able to search for images using an on-line database and image catalog. These images could then be retrieved over the network as needed, along with information on the acquisition and processing prior to storage. For this goal to be realized, a number of standard processing protocols must be developed to allow the classification of images into categories. Standard series of processing algorithms can then be applied to each category (although many of these may be adaptive between images). Since the archived image files would be standardized, it should also be possible to develop standard output processing protocols for a number of output devices. If LaRC continues the research effort begun this summer, it may be one of the first organizations to develop an integrated approach to imaging. As such, it could serve as a model for other organizations in government and the private sector.

Abnormalities of Object Visual Processing in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

PubMed Central

Feusner, Jamie D.; Hembacher, Emily; Moller, Hayley; Moody, Teena D.

2013-01-01

Background Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder may have perceptual distortions for their appearance. Previous studies suggest imbalances in detailed relative to configural/holistic visual processing when viewing faces. No study has investigated the neural correlates of processing non-symptom-related stimuli. The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with body dysmorphic disorder have abnormal patterns of brain activation when viewing non-face/non-body object stimuli. Methods Fourteen medication-free participants with DSM-IV body dysmorphic disorder and 14 healthy controls participated. We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants matched photographs of houses that were unaltered, contained only high spatial frequency (high detail) information, or only low spatial frequency (low detail) information. The primary outcome was group differences in blood oxygen level-dependent signal changes. Results The body dysmorphic disorder group showed lesser activity in the parahippocampal gyrus, lingual gyrus, and precuneus for low spatial frequency images. There were greater activations in medial prefrontal regions for high spatial frequency images, although no significant differences when compared to a low-level baseline. Greater symptom severity was associated with lesser activity in dorsal occipital cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex for normal and high spatial frequency images. Conclusions Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder have abnormal brain activation patterns when viewing objects. Hypoactivity in visual association areas for configural and holistic (low detail) elements and abnormal allocation of prefrontal systems for details is consistent with a model of imbalances in global vs. local processing. This may occur not only for appearance but also for general stimuli unrelated to their symptoms. PMID:21557897

The enigma of site of action of migraine preventives: no effect of metoprolol on trigeminal pain processing in patients and healthy controls.

PubMed

Hebestreit, Julia M; May, Arne

2017-12-19

Beta-blockers are a first choice migraine preventive medication. So far it is unknown how they exert their therapeutic effect in migraine. To this end we examined the neural effect of metoprolol on trigeminal pain processing in 19 migraine patients and 26 healthy controls. All participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during trigeminal pain twice: Healthy subjects took part in a placebo-controlled, randomized and double-blind study, receiving a single dose of metoprolol and placebo. Patients were examined with a baseline scan before starting the preventive medication and 3 months later whilst treated with metoprolol. Mean pain intensity ratings were not significantly altered under metoprolol. Functional imaging revealed no significant differences in nociceptive processing in both groups. Contrary to earlier findings from animal studies, we did not find an effect of metoprolol on the thalamus in either group. However, using a more liberal and exploratory threshold, hypothalamic activity was slightly increased under metoprolol in patients and migraineurs. No significant effect of metoprolol on trigeminal pain processing was observed, suggesting a peripheral effect of metoprolol. Exploratory analyses revealed slightly enhanced hypothalamic activity under metoprolol in both groups. Given the emerging role of the hypothalamus in migraine attack generation, these data need further examination.

Age-related morphological changes of the dermal matrix in human skin documented in vivo by multiphoton microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hequn; Shyr, Thomas; Fevola, Michael J.; Cula, Gabriela Oana; Stamatas, Georgios N.

2018-03-01

Two-photon fluorescence (TPF) and second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy provide direct visualization of the skin dermal fibers in vivo. A typical method for analyzing TPF/SHG images involves averaging the image intensity and therefore disregarding the spatial distribution information. The goal of this study is to develop an algorithm to document age-related effects of the dermal matrix. TPF and SHG images were acquired from the upper inner arm, volar forearm, and cheek of female volunteers of two age groups: 20 to 30 and 60 to 80 years of age. The acquired images were analyzed for parameters relating to collagen and elastin fiber features, such as orientation and density. Both collagen and elastin fibers showed higher anisotropy in fiber orientation for the older group. The greatest difference in elastin fiber anisotropy between the two groups was found for the upper inner arm site. Elastin fiber density increased with age, whereas collagen fiber density decreased with age. The proposed analysis considers the spatial information inherent to the TPF and SHG images and provides additional insights into how the dermal fiber structure is affected by the aging process.

Deficiencies of the cryptography based on multiple-parameter fractional Fourier transform.

PubMed

Ran, Qiwen; Zhang, Haiying; Zhang, Jin; Tan, Liying; Ma, Jing

2009-06-01

Methods of image encryption based on fractional Fourier transform have an incipient flaw in security. We show that the schemes have the deficiency that one group of encryption keys has many groups of keys to decrypt the encrypted image correctly for several reasons. In some schemes, many factors result in the deficiencies, such as the encryption scheme based on multiple-parameter fractional Fourier transform [Opt. Lett.33, 581 (2008)]. A modified method is proposed to avoid all the deficiencies. Security and reliability are greatly improved without increasing the complexity of the encryption process. (c) 2009 Optical Society of America.

Detecting perceptual groupings in textures by continuity considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greene, Richard J.

1990-01-01

A generalization is presented for the second derivative of a Gaussian D(sup 2)G operator to apply to problems of perceptual organization involving textures. Extensions to other problems of perceptual organization are evident and a new research direction can be established. The technique presented is theoretically pleasing since it has the potential of unifying the entire area of image segmentation under the mathematical notion of continuity and presents a single algorithm to form perceptual groupings where many algorithms existed previously. The eventual impact on both the approach and technique of image processing segmentation operations could be significant.

Advancing Patient-centered Outcomes in Emergency Diagnostic Imaging: A Research Agenda.

PubMed

Kanzaria, Hemal K; McCabe, Aileen M; Meisel, Zachary M; LeBlanc, Annie; Schaffer, Jason T; Bellolio, M Fernanda; Vaughan, William; Merck, Lisa H; Applegate, Kimberly E; Hollander, Judd E; Grudzen, Corita R; Mills, Angela M; Carpenter, Christopher R; Hess, Erik P

2015-12-01

Diagnostic imaging is integral to the evaluation of many emergency department (ED) patients. However, relatively little effort has been devoted to patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) in emergency diagnostic imaging. This article provides background on this topic and the conclusions of the 2015 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference PCOR work group regarding "Diagnostic Imaging in the Emergency Department: A Research Agenda to Optimize Utilization." The goal was to determine a prioritized research agenda to establish which outcomes related to emergency diagnostic imaging are most important to patients, caregivers, and other key stakeholders and which methods will most optimally engage patients in the decision to undergo imaging. Case vignettes are used to emphasize these concepts as they relate to a patient's decision to seek care at an ED and the care received there. The authors discuss applicable research methods and approaches such as shared decision-making that could facilitate better integration of patient-centered outcomes and patient-reported outcomes into decisions regarding emergency diagnostic imaging. Finally, based on a modified Delphi process involving members of the PCOR work group, prioritized research questions are proposed to advance the science of patient-centered outcomes in ED diagnostic imaging. © 2015 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Combining multi-layered bitmap files using network specific hardware

DOEpatents

DuBois, David H [Los Alamos, NM; DuBois, Andrew J [Santa Fe, NM; Davenport, Carolyn Connor [Los Alamos, NM

2012-02-28

Images and video can be produced by compositing or alpha blending a group of image layers or video layers. Increasing resolution or the number of layers results in increased computational demands. As such, the available computational resources limit the images and videos that can be produced. A computational architecture in which the image layers are packetized and streamed through processors can be easily scaled so to handle many image layers and high resolutions. The image layers are packetized to produce packet streams. The packets in the streams are received, placed in queues, and processed. For alpha blending, ingress queues receive the packetized image layers which are then z sorted and sent to egress queues. The egress queue packets are alpha blended to produce an output image or video.

Neonatal Jaundice Detection System.

PubMed

Aydın, Mustafa; Hardalaç, Fırat; Ural, Berkan; Karap, Serhat

2016-07-01

Neonatal jaundice is a common condition that occurs in newborn infants in the first week of life. Today, techniques used for detection are required blood samples and other clinical testing with special equipment. The aim of this study is creating a non-invasive system to control and to detect the jaundice periodically and helping doctors for early diagnosis. In this work, first, a patient group which is consisted from jaundiced babies and a control group which is consisted from healthy babies are prepared, then between 24 and 48 h after birth, 40 jaundiced and 40 healthy newborns are chosen. Second, advanced image processing techniques are used on the images which are taken with a standard smartphone and the color calibration card. Segmentation, pixel similarity and white balancing methods are used as image processing techniques and RGB values and pixels' important information are obtained exactly. Third, during feature extraction stage, with using colormap transformations and feature calculation, comparisons are done in RGB plane between color change values and the 8-color calibration card which is specially designed. Finally, in the bilirubin level estimation stage, kNN and SVR machine learning regressions are used on the dataset which are obtained from feature extraction. At the end of the process, when the control group is based on for comparisons, jaundice is succesfully detected for 40 jaundiced infants and the success rate is 85 %. Obtained bilirubin estimation results are consisted with bilirubin results which are obtained from the standard blood test and the compliance rate is 85 %.

Theoretical and Empirical Comparison of Big Data Image Processing with Apache Hadoop and Sun Grid Engine.

PubMed

Bao, Shunxing; Weitendorf, Frederick D; Plassard, Andrew J; Huo, Yuankai; Gokhale, Aniruddha; Landman, Bennett A

2017-02-11

The field of big data is generally concerned with the scale of processing at which traditional computational paradigms break down. In medical imaging, traditional large scale processing uses a cluster computer that combines a group of workstation nodes into a functional unit that is controlled by a job scheduler. Typically, a shared-storage network file system (NFS) is used to host imaging data. However, data transfer from storage to processing nodes can saturate network bandwidth when data is frequently uploaded/retrieved from the NFS, e.g., "short" processing times and/or "large" datasets. Recently, an alternative approach using Hadoop and HBase was presented for medical imaging to enable co-location of data storage and computation while minimizing data transfer. The benefits of using such a framework must be formally evaluated against a traditional approach to characterize the point at which simply "large scale" processing transitions into "big data" and necessitates alternative computational frameworks. The proposed Hadoop system was implemented on a production lab-cluster alongside a standard Sun Grid Engine (SGE). Theoretical models for wall-clock time and resource time for both approaches are introduced and validated. To provide real example data, three T1 image archives were retrieved from a university secure, shared web database and used to empirically assess computational performance under three configurations of cluster hardware (using 72, 109, or 209 CPU cores) with differing job lengths. Empirical results match the theoretical models. Based on these data, a comparative analysis is presented for when the Hadoop framework will be relevant and non-relevant for medical imaging.

Theoretical and empirical comparison of big data image processing with Apache Hadoop and Sun Grid Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, Shunxing; Weitendorf, Frederick D.; Plassard, Andrew J.; Huo, Yuankai; Gokhale, Aniruddha; Landman, Bennett A.

2017-03-01

The field of big data is generally concerned with the scale of processing at which traditional computational paradigms break down. In medical imaging, traditional large scale processing uses a cluster computer that combines a group of workstation nodes into a functional unit that is controlled by a job scheduler. Typically, a shared-storage network file system (NFS) is used to host imaging data. However, data transfer from storage to processing nodes can saturate network bandwidth when data is frequently uploaded/retrieved from the NFS, e.g., "short" processing times and/or "large" datasets. Recently, an alternative approach using Hadoop and HBase was presented for medical imaging to enable co-location of data storage and computation while minimizing data transfer. The benefits of using such a framework must be formally evaluated against a traditional approach to characterize the point at which simply "large scale" processing transitions into "big data" and necessitates alternative computational frameworks. The proposed Hadoop system was implemented on a production lab-cluster alongside a standard Sun Grid Engine (SGE). Theoretical models for wall-clock time and resource time for both approaches are introduced and validated. To provide real example data, three T1 image archives were retrieved from a university secure, shared web database and used to empirically assess computational performance under three configurations of cluster hardware (using 72, 109, or 209 CPU cores) with differing job lengths. Empirical results match the theoretical models. Based on these data, a comparative analysis is presented for when the Hadoop framework will be relevant and nonrelevant for medical imaging.

Subjectivity in Design Education: The Perception of the City through Personal Maps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yilmaz, Ebru

2016-01-01

Our mental maps related to the cities are limited by our personal perception and fragmented in the process. There are many inner and outer effects that shape our mental maps, and as a result the fragmented whole refers to the total city image in our minds. To represent this image, an experimental study has been conducted with a group of students.…

Visualization and recommendation of large image collections toward effective sensemaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Yi; Wang, Chaoli; Nemiroff, Robert; Kao, David; Parra, Denis

2016-03-01

In our daily lives, images are among the most commonly found data which we need to handle. We present iGraph, a graph-based approach for visual analytics of large image collections and their associated text information. Given such a collection, we compute the similarity between images, the distance between texts, and the connection between image and text to construct iGraph, a compound graph representation which encodes the underlying relationships among these images and texts. To enable effective visual navigation and comprehension of iGraph with tens of thousands of nodes and hundreds of millions of edges, we present a progressive solution that offers collection overview, node comparison, and visual recommendation. Our solution not only allows users to explore the entire collection with representative images and keywords but also supports detailed comparison for understanding and intuitive guidance for navigation. The visual exploration of iGraph is further enhanced with the implementation of bubble sets to highlight group memberships of nodes, suggestion of abnormal keywords or time periods based on text outlier detection, and comparison of four different recommendation solutions. For performance speedup, multiple graphics processing units and central processing units are utilized for processing and visualization in parallel. We experiment with two image collections and leverage a cluster driving a display wall of nearly 50 million pixels. We show the effectiveness of our approach by demonstrating experimental results and conducting a user study.

Age-related changes in overcoming proactive interference in associative memory: The role of PFC-mediated executive control processes at retrieval.

PubMed

Dulas, Michael R; Duarte, Audrey

2016-05-15

Behavioral evidence has shown age-related impairments in overcoming proactive interference in memory, but it is unclear what underlies this deficit. Imaging studies in the young suggest overcoming interference may require several executive control processes supported by the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC). The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated whether age-related changes in dissociable executive control processes underlie deficits in overcoming proactive interference in associative memory during retrieval. Participants were tasked with remembering which associate (face or scene) objects were paired with most recently during study, under conditions of high or low proactive interference. Behavioral results demonstrated that, as interference increased, memory performance decreased similarly across groups, with slight associative memory deficits in older adults. Imaging results demonstrated that, across groups, left mid-VLPFC showed increasing activity with increasing interference, though activity did not distinguish correct from incorrect associative memory responses, suggesting this region may not directly serve in successful resolution of proactive interference, per se. Under conditions of high interference, older adults showed reduced associative memory accuracy effects in the DLPFC and anterior PFC. These results suggest that age-related PFC dysfunction may not be ubiquitous. Executive processes supported by ventral regions that detect mnemonic interference may be less affected than processes supported by dorsal and anterior regions that directly resolve interference. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The neural substrates of in-group bias: a functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation.

PubMed

Van Bavel, Jay J; Packer, Dominic J; Cunningham, William A

2008-11-01

Classic minimal-group studies found that people arbitrarily assigned to a novel group quickly display a range of perceptual, affective, and behavioral in-group biases. We randomly assigned participants to a mixed-race team and used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify brain regions involved in processing novel in-group and out-group members independently of preexisting attitudes, stereotypes, or familiarity. Whereas previous research on intergroup perception found amygdala activity--typically interpreted as negativity--in response to stigmatized social groups, we found greater activity in the amygdala, fusiform gyri, orbitofrontal cortex, and dorsal striatum when participants viewed novel in-group faces than when they viewed novel out-group faces. Moreover, activity in orbitofrontal cortex mediated the in-group bias in self-reported liking for the faces. These in-group biases in neural activity were not moderated by race or by whether participants explicitly attended to team membership or race, a finding suggesting that they may occur automatically. This study helps clarify the role of neural substrates involved in perceptual and affective in-group biases.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of story listening in adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome: evidence for atypical neurodevelopment.

PubMed

Jacola, L M; Byars, A W; Hickey, F; Vannest, J; Holland, S K; Schapiro, M B

2014-10-01

Previous studies have documented differences in neural activation during language processing in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) in comparison with typically developing individuals matched for chronological age. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare activation during language processing in young adults with DS to typically developing comparison groups matched for chronological age or mental age. We hypothesised that the pattern of neural activation in the DS cohort would differ when compared with both typically developing cohorts. Eleven persons with DS (mean chronological age = 18.3; developmental age range = 4-6 years) and two groups of typically developing individuals matched for chronological (n = 13; mean age = 18.3 years) and developmental (mental) age (n = 12; chronological age range = 4-6 years) completed fMRI scanning during a passive story listening paradigm. Random effects group comparisons were conducted on individual maps of the contrast between activation (story listening) and rest (tone presentation) conditions. Robust activation was seen in typically developing groups in regions associated with processing auditory information, including bilateral superior and middle temporal lobe gyri. In contrast, the DS cohort demonstrated atypical spatial distribution of activation in midline frontal and posterior cingulate regions when compared with both typically developing control groups. Random effects group analyses documented reduced magnitude of activation in the DS cohort when compared with both control groups. Activation in the DS group differed significantly in magnitude and spatial extent when compared with chronological and mental age-matched typically developing control groups during a story listening task. Results provide additional support for an atypical pattern of functional organisation for language processing in this population. © 2013 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Simulation of Detecting Damage in Composite Stiffened Panel Using Lamb Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, John T.; Ross, Richard W.; Huang, Guo L.; Yuan, Fuh G.

2013-01-01

Lamb wave damage detection in a composite stiffened panel is simulated by performing explicit transient dynamic finite element analyses and using signal imaging techniques. This virtual test process does not need to use real structures, actuators/sensors, or laboratory equipment. Quasi-isotropic laminates are used for the stiffened panels. Two types of damage are studied. One type is a damage in the skin bay and the other type is a debond between the stiffener flange and the skin. Innovative approaches for identifying the damage location and imaging the damage were developed. The damage location is identified by finding the intersection of the damage locus and the path of the time reversal wave packet re-emitted from the sensor nodes. The damage locus is a circle that envelops the potential damage locations. Its center is at the actuator location and its radius is computed by multiplying the group velocity by the time of flight to damage. To create a damage image for estimating the size of damage, a group of nodes in the neighborhood of the damage location is identified for applying an image condition. The image condition, computed at a finite element node, is the zero-lag cross-correlation (ZLCC) of the time-reversed incident wave signal and the time reversal wave signal from the sensor nodes. This damage imaging process is computationally efficient since only the ZLCC values of a small amount of nodes in the neighborhood of the identified damage location are computed instead of those of the full model.

A Spatiotemporal Clustering Approach to Maritime Domain Awareness

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

1997. [25] M. E. Celebi, “Effective initialization of k-means for color quantization,” 16th IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP...release; distribution is unlimited 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) Spatiotemporal clustering is the process of grouping...Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering iv THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK v ABSTRACT Spatiotemporal clustering is the process of

Temporal lobe abnormalities in semantic processing by criminal psychopaths as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Kiehl, Kent A; Smith, Andra M; Mendrek, Adrianna; Forster, Bruce B; Hare, Robert D; Liddle, Peter F

2004-04-30

We tested the hypothesis that psychopathy is associated with abnormalities in semantic processing of linguistic information. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to elucidate and characterize the neural architecture underlying lexico-semantic processes in criminal psychopathic individuals and in a group of matched control participants. Participants performed a lexical decision task in which blocks of linguistic stimuli alternated with a resting baseline condition. In each lexical decision block, the stimuli were either concrete words and pseudowords or abstract words and pseudowords. Consistent with our hypothesis, psychopathic individuals, relative to controls, showed poorer behavioral performance for processing abstract words. Analysis of the fMRI data for both groups indicated that processing of word stimuli, compared with the resting baseline condition, was associated with neural activation in bilateral fusiform gyrus, anterior cingulate, left middle temporal gyrus, right posterior superior temporal gyrus, and left and right inferior frontal gyrus. Analyses confirmed our prediction that psychopathic individuals would fail to show the appropriate neural differentiation between abstract and concrete stimuli in the right anterior temporal gyrus and surrounding cortex. The results are consistent with other studies of semantic processing in psychopathy and support the theory that psychopathy is associated with right hemisphere abnormalities for processing conceptually abstract material.

Temporal lobe abnormalities in semantic processing by criminal psychopaths as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Kiehl, Kent A; Smith, Andra M; Mendrek, Adrianna; Forster, Bruce B; Hare, Robert D; Liddle, Peter F

2004-01-15

We tested the hypothesis that psychopathy is associated with abnormalities in semantic processing of linguistic information. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to elucidate and characterize the neural architecture underlying lexico-semantic processes in criminal psychopathic individuals and in a group of matched control participants. Participants performed a lexical decision task in which blocks of linguistic stimuli alternated with a resting baseline condition. In each lexical decision block, the stimuli were either concrete words and pseudowords or abstract words and pseudowords. Consistent with our hypothesis, psychopathic individuals, relative to controls, showed poorer behavioral performance for processing abstract words. Analysis of the fMRI data for both groups indicated that processing of word stimuli, compared with the resting baseline condition, was associated with neural activation in bilateral fusiform gyrus, anterior cingulate, left middle temporal gyrus, right posterior superior temporal gyrus, and left and right inferior frontal gyrus. Analyses confirmed our prediction that psychopathic individuals would fail to show the appropriate neural differentiation between abstract and concrete stimuli in the right anterior temporal gyrus and surrounding cortex. The results are consistent with other studies of semantic processing in psychopathy and support the theory that psychopathy is associated with right hemisphere abnormalities for processing conceptually abstract material.

Rapid Disaster Damage Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vu, T. T.

2012-07-01

The experiences from recent disaster events showed that detailed information derived from high-resolution satellite images could accommodate the requirements from damage analysts and disaster management practitioners. Richer information contained in such high-resolution images, however, increases the complexity of image analysis. As a result, few image analysis solutions can be practically used under time pressure in the context of post-disaster and emergency responses. To fill the gap in employment of remote sensing in disaster response, this research develops a rapid high-resolution satellite mapping solution built upon a dual-scale contextual framework to support damage estimation after a catastrophe. The target objects are building (or building blocks) and their condition. On the coarse processing level, statistical region merging deployed to group pixels into a number of coarse clusters. Based on majority rule of vegetation index, water and shadow index, it is possible to eliminate the irrelevant clusters. The remaining clusters likely consist of building structures and others. On the fine processing level details, within each considering clusters, smaller objects are formed using morphological analysis. Numerous indicators including spectral, textural and shape indices are computed to be used in a rule-based object classification. Computation time of raster-based analysis highly depends on the image size or number of processed pixels in order words. Breaking into 2 level processing helps to reduce the processed number of pixels and the redundancy of processing irrelevant information. In addition, it allows a data- and tasks- based parallel implementation. The performance is demonstrated with QuickBird images captured a disaster-affected area of Phanga, Thailand by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami are used for demonstration of the performance. The developed solution will be implemented in different platforms as well as a web processing service for operational uses.

Four in vivo g-ratio-weighted imaging methods: Comparability and repeatability at the group level.

PubMed

Ellerbrock, Isabel; Mohammadi, Siawoosh

2018-01-01

A recent method, denoted in vivo g-ratio-weighted imaging, has related the microscopic g-ratio, only accessible by ex vivo histology, to noninvasive MRI markers for the fiber volume fraction (FVF) and myelin volume fraction (MVF). Different MRI markers have been proposed for g-ratio weighted imaging, leaving open the question which combination of imaging markers is optimal. To address this question, the repeatability and comparability of four g-ratio methods based on different combinations of, respectively, two imaging markers for FVF (tract-fiber density, TFD, and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging, NODDI) and two imaging markers for MVF (magnetization transfer saturation rate, MT, and, from proton density maps, macromolecular tissue volume, MTV) were tested in a scan-rescan experiment in two groups. Moreover, it was tested how the repeatability and comparability were affected by two key processing steps, namely the masking of unreliable voxels (e.g., due to partial volume effects) at the group level and the calibration value used to link MRI markers to MVF (and FVF). Our data showed that repeatability and comparability depend largely on the marker for the FVF (NODDI outperformed TFD), and that they were improved by masking. Overall, the g-ratio method based on NODDI and MT showed the highest repeatability (90%) and lowest variability between groups (3.5%). Finally, our results indicate that the calibration procedure is crucial, for example, calibration to a lower g-ratio value (g = 0.6) than the commonly used one (g = 0.7) can change not only repeatability and comparability but also the reported dependency on the FVF imaging marker. Hum Brain Mapp 39:24-41, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Feasibility study of hidden flow imaging based on laser speckle technique using multiperspectives contrast images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abookasis, David; Moshe, Tomer

2014-11-01

This paper demonstrates the insertion of lens array in the front of a CCD camera in a laser speckle imaging (LSI) like-technique to acquire multiple speckle reflectance projections for imaging blood flow in an intact biological tissue. In some of LSI applications, flow imaging is obtained by thinning or removing of the upper tissue layers to access blood vessels. In contrast, with the proposed approach flow imaging can be achieved while the tissue is intact. In the system, each lens from an hexagonal lens array observed the sample from slightly different perspectives and captured with a CCD camera. In the computer, these multiview raw images are converted to speckled contrast maps. Then, a self-deconvolution shift-and-add algorithm is employed for processing yields high contrast flow information. The method is experimentally validated first with a plastic tube filled with scattering liquid running at different controlled flow rates hidden in a biological tissue and then extensively tested for imaging of cerebral blood flow in an intact rodent head experience different conditions. A total of fifteen mice were used in the experiments divided randomly into three groups as follows: Group 1 (n=5) consisted of injured mice experience hypoxic ischemic brain injury monitored for ~40 min. Group 2 (n=5) injured mice experience anoxic brain injury monitored up to 20 min. Group 3 (n=5) experience functional activation monitored up to ~35 min. To increase tissue transparency and the penetration depth of photons through head tissue layers, an optical clearing method was employed. To our knowledge, this work presents for the first time the use of lens array in LSI scheme.

Image Algebra Matlab language version 2.3 for image processing and compression research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmalz, Mark S.; Ritter, Gerhard X.; Hayden, Eric

2010-08-01

Image algebra is a rigorous, concise notation that unifies linear and nonlinear mathematics in the image domain. Image algebra was developed under DARPA and US Air Force sponsorship at University of Florida for over 15 years beginning in 1984. Image algebra has been implemented in a variety of programming languages designed specifically to support the development of image processing and computer vision algorithms and software. The University of Florida has been associated with development of the languages FORTRAN, Ada, Lisp, and C++. The latter implementation involved a class library, iac++, that supported image algebra programming in C++. Since image processing and computer vision are generally performed with operands that are array-based, the Matlab™ programming language is ideal for implementing the common subset of image algebra. Objects include sets and set operations, images and operations on images, as well as templates and image-template convolution operations. This implementation, called Image Algebra Matlab (IAM), has been found to be useful for research in data, image, and video compression, as described herein. Due to the widespread acceptance of the Matlab programming language in the computing community, IAM offers exciting possibilities for supporting a large group of users. The control over an object's computational resources provided to the algorithm designer by Matlab means that IAM programs can employ versatile representations for the operands and operations of the algebra, which are supported by the underlying libraries written in Matlab. In a previous publication, we showed how the functionality of IAC++ could be carried forth into a Matlab implementation, and provided practical details of a prototype implementation called IAM Version 1. In this paper, we further elaborate the purpose and structure of image algebra, then present a maturing implementation of Image Algebra Matlab called IAM Version 2.3, which extends the previous implementation of IAM to include polymorphic operations over different point sets, as well as recursive convolution operations and functional composition. We also show how image algebra and IAM can be employed in image processing and compression research, as well as algorithm development and analysis.

Cognitive processing of visual images in migraine populations in between headache attacks.

PubMed

Mickleborough, Marla J S; Chapman, Christine M; Toma, Andreea S; Handy, Todd C

2014-09-25

People with migraine headache have altered interictal visual sensory-level processing in between headache attacks. Here we examined the extent to which these migraine abnormalities may extend into higher visual processing such as implicit evaluative analysis of visual images in between migraine events. Specifically, we asked two groups of participants--migraineurs (N=29) and non-migraine controls (N=29)--to view a set of unfamiliar commercial logos in the context of a target identification task as the brain electrical responses to these objects were recorded via event-related potentials (ERPs). Following this task, participants individually identified those logos that they most liked or disliked. We applied a between-groups comparison of how ERP responses to logos varied as a function of hedonic evaluation. Our results suggest migraineurs have abnormal implicit evaluative processing of visual stimuli. Specifically, migraineurs lacked a bias for disliked logos found in control subjects, as measured via a late positive potential (LPP) ERP component. These results suggest post-sensory consequences of migraine in between headache events, specifically abnormal cognitive evaluative processing with a lack of normal categorical hedonic evaluation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of intranasal oxytocin on the neural basis of face processing in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Domes, Gregor; Heinrichs, Markus; Kumbier, Ekkehardt; Grossmann, Annette; Hauenstein, Karlheinz; Herpertz, Sabine C

2013-08-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with altered face processing and decreased activity in brain regions involved in face processing. The neuropeptide oxytocin has been shown to promote face processing and modulate brain activity in healthy adults. The present study examined the effects of oxytocin on the neural basis of face processing in adults with Asperger syndrome (AS). A group of 14 individuals with AS and a group of 14 neurotypical control participants performed a face-matching and a house-matching task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The effects of a single dose of 24 IU intranasally administered oxytocin were tested in a randomized, placebo-controlled, within-subject, cross-over design. Under placebo, the AS group showed decreased activity in the right amygdala, fusiform gyrus, and inferior occipital gyrus compared with the control group during face processing. After oxytocin treatment, right amygdala activity to facial stimuli increased in the AS group. These findings indicate that oxytocin increases the saliency of social stimuli and in ASD and suggest that oxytocin might promote face processing and eye contact in individuals with ASD as prerequisites for neurotypical social interaction. Copyright © 2013 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Observer perspective imagery with stuttering.

PubMed

Lowe, Robyn; Menzies, Ross; Packman, Ann; O'Brian, Sue; Onslow, Mark

2015-01-01

Adults who stutter are at risk of developing a range of psychological conditions. Social anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety disorder associated with stuttering. Observer perspective imagery is one cognitive process involved in the maintenance of some anxiety disorders. This involves viewing images as if looking at the self from the perspective of another. In contrast, the field perspective involves looking out from the self at the surrounding environment. The purpose of this study was to assess the presence of observer perspective imagery with stuttering. The authors administered the Hackmann, Surawy and Clark (1998) semi-structured interview to 30 adults who stutter and 30 controls. Group images and impressions were compared for frequency, perspective recalled and emotional valence. The stuttering group was significantly more likely than controls to recall images and impressions from an observer rather than a field perspective for anxious situations. It is possible the present results could reflect the same attentional processing bias that occurs with anxiety disorders in the non-stuttering population. These preliminary results provide an explanation for the persistence of conditions such as social anxiety disorder with stuttering. Clinical implications are discussed.

MR findings in athletes with pubalgia.

PubMed

Albers, S L; Spritzer, C E; Garrett, W E; Meyers, W C

2001-05-01

To describe the MR findings in athletes with pubalgia. Pelvic MR images of 32 athletes (30 men, 2 women) with pubalgia were studied. T1-weighted and T2-weighted (SE and FSE) and STIR images in the axial and coronal planes were obtained on a 1.5-T system. Images were reviewed for general pelvic pathology. Special attention was given to the pubic symphysis, groin and pelvic musculature, and to the abdominal wall musculature. Thirty surgically confirmed cases comprise the study group. Abnormalities in the following were found: pubic symphysis (21/30), abdominal wall (27/30), groin musculature, including rectus abdominis (21/30), pectineus (6/30), and adductor muscle group (18/30). Pubalgia is a complex process which is frequently multifactorial. The MRI findings can alter the surgical approach.

Entropy reduction via simplified image contourization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Martin J.

1993-01-01

The process of contourization is presented which converts a raster image into a set of plateaux or contours. These contours can be grouped into a hierarchical structure, defining total spatial inclusion, called a contour tree. A contour coder has been developed which fully describes these contours in a compact and efficient manner and is the basis for an image compression method. Simplification of the contour tree has been undertaken by merging contour tree nodes thus lowering the contour tree's entropy. This can be exploited by the contour coder to increase the image compression ratio. By applying general and simple rules derived from physiological experiments on the human vision system, lossy image compression can be achieved which minimizes noticeable artifacts in the simplified image.

Image velocimetry for clouds with relaxation labeling based on deformation consistency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horinouchi, Takeshi; Murakami, Shin-ya; Kouyama, Toru; Ogohara, Kazunori; Yamazaki, Atsushi; Yamada, Manabu; Watanabe, Shigeto

2017-08-01

Correlation-based cloud tracking has been extensively used to measure atmospheric winds, but still difficulty remains. In this study, aiming at developing a cloud tracking system for Akatsuki, an artificial satellite orbiting Venus, a formulation is developed for improving the relaxation labeling technique to select appropriate peaks of cross-correlation surfaces which tend to have multiple peaks. The formulation makes an explicit use of consistency inherent in the type of cross-correlation method where template sub-images are slid without deformation; if the resultant motion vectors indicate a too-large deformation, it is contradictory to the assumption of the method. The deformation consistency is exploited further to develop two post processes; one clusters the motion vectors into groups within each of which the consistency is perfect, and the other extends the groups using the original candidate lists. These processes are useful to eliminate erroneous vectors, distinguish motion vectors at different altitudes, and detect phase velocities of waves in fluids such as atmospheric gravity waves. As a basis of the relaxation labeling and the post processes as well as uncertainty estimation, the necessity to find isolated (well-separated) peaks of cross-correlation surfaces is argued, and an algorithm to realize it is presented. All the methods are implemented, and their effectiveness is demonstrated with initial images obtained by the ultraviolet imager onboard Akatsuki. Since the deformation consistency regards the logical consistency inherent in template matching methods, it should have broad application beyond cloud tracking.

[Body image of women with breast cancer: a systematic review of literature].

PubMed

Santos, Daniela Barsotti; Vieira, Elisabeth Meloni

2011-05-01

Women experience a major process of reshaping their body image when they deal with breast cancer. This article seeks to understand the relationship that breast cancer and its treatment have in the process of (re)construction of a woman's body image. The ultimate objective is to promote knowledge to train health professionals to become more aware of a woman's quality of life. A systematic review of the literature of scientific articles published between 2004 and 2009 available in three scientific databases was conducted and a total of 56 articles were reviewed and grouped into four thematic categories. There is a pressing need for further studies on the socio-cultural characteristics of women with breast cancer, the differences of (re)construction of body image of young and older women, and Brazilian publications about the personal experience and socio-cultural context of women with breast cancer.

Trends in optical coherence tomography applied to medical imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podoleanu, Adrian G.

2014-01-01

The number of publications on optical coherence tomography (OCT) continues to double every three years. Traditionally applied to imaging the eye, OCT is now being extended to fields outside ophthalmology and optometry. Widening its applicability, progress in the core engine of the technology, and impact on development of novel optical sources, make OCT a very active and rapidly evolving field. Trends in the developments of different specific devices, such as optical sources, optical configurations and signal processing will be presented. Encompassing studies on both the configurations as well as on signal processing themes, current research in Kent looks at combining spectral domain with time domain imaging for long axial range and simultaneous imaging at several depths. Results of the collaborative work of the Applied Optics Group in Kent with organisers of this conference will be presented, with reference to 3D monitoring of abfraction.

Optimization method of superpixel analysis for multi-contrast Jones matrix tomography (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyazawa, Arata; Hong, Young-Joo; Makita, Shuichi; Kasaragod, Deepa K.; Miura, Masahiro; Yasuno, Yoshiaki

2017-02-01

Local statistics are widely utilized for quantification and image processing of OCT. For example, local mean is used to reduce speckle, local variation of polarization state (degree-of-polarization-uniformity (DOPU)) is used to visualize melanin. Conventionally, these statistics are calculated in a rectangle kernel whose size is uniform over the image. However, the fixed size and shape of the kernel result in a tradeoff between image sharpness and statistical accuracy. Superpixel is a cluster of pixels which is generated by grouping image pixels based on the spatial proximity and similarity of signal values. Superpixels have variant size and flexible shapes which preserve the tissue structure. Here we demonstrate a new superpixel method which is tailored for multifunctional Jones matrix OCT (JM-OCT). This new method forms the superpixels by clustering image pixels in a 6-dimensional (6-D) feature space (spatial two dimensions and four dimensions of optical features). All image pixels were clustered based on their spatial proximity and optical feature similarity. The optical features are scattering, OCT-A, birefringence and DOPU. The method is applied to retinal OCT. Generated superpixels preserve the tissue structures such as retinal layers, sclera, vessels, and retinal pigment epithelium. Hence, superpixel can be utilized as a local statistics kernel which would be more suitable than a uniform rectangle kernel. Superpixelized image also can be used for further image processing and analysis. Since it reduces the number of pixels to be analyzed, it reduce the computational cost of such image processing.

Measuring pictorial balance perception at first glance using Japanese calligraphy

PubMed Central

Gershoni, Sharon; Hochstein, Shaul

2011-01-01

According to art theory, pictorial balance acts to unify picture elements into a cohesive composition. For asymmetrical compositions, balancing elements is thought to be similar to balancing mechanical weights in a framework of symmetry axes. Assessment of preference for balance (APB), based on the symmetry-axes framework suggested in Arnheim R, 1974 Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press), successfully matched subject balance ratings of images of geometrical shapes over unlimited viewing time. We now examine pictorial balance perception of Japanese calligraphy during first fixation, isolated from later cognitive processes, comparing APB measures with results from balance-rating and comparison tasks. Results show high between-task correlation, but low correlation with APB. We repeated the rating task, expanding the image set to include five rotations of each image, comparing balance perception of artist and novice participant groups. Rotation has no effect on APB balance computation but dramatically affects balance rating, especially for art experts. We analyze the variety of rotation effects and suggest that, rather than depending on element size and position relative to symmetry axes, first fixation balance processing derives from global processes such as grouping of lines and shapes, object recognition, preference for horizontal and vertical elements, closure, and completion, enhanced by vertical symmetry. PMID:23145242

Automatic localization of cochlear implant electrodes in CTs with a limited intensity range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yiyuan; Dawant, Benoit M.; Noble, Jack H.

2017-02-01

Cochlear implants (CIs) are neural prosthetics for treating severe-to-profound hearing loss. Our group has developed an image-guided cochlear implant programming (IGCIP) system that uses image analysis techniques to recommend patientspecific CI processor settings to improve hearing outcomes. One crucial step in IGCIP is the localization of CI electrodes in post-implantation CTs. Manual localization of electrodes requires time and expertise. To automate this process, our group has proposed automatic techniques that have been validated on CTs acquired with scanners that produce images with an extended range of intensity values. However, there are many clinical CTs acquired with a limited intensity range. This limitation complicates the electrode localization process. In this work, we present a pre-processing step for CTs with a limited intensity range and extend the methods we proposed for full intensity range CTs to localize CI electrodes in CTs with limited intensity range. We evaluate our method on CTs of 20 subjects implanted with CI arrays produced by different manufacturers. Our method achieves a mean localization error of 0.21mm. This indicates our method is robust for automatic localization of CI electrodes in different types of CTs, which represents a crucial step for translating IGCIP from research laboratory to clinical use.

A data distributed parallel algorithm for ray-traced volume rendering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ma, Kwan-Liu; Painter, James S.; Hansen, Charles D.; Krogh, Michael F.

1993-01-01

This paper presents a divide-and-conquer ray-traced volume rendering algorithm and a parallel image compositing method, along with their implementation and performance on the Connection Machine CM-5, and networked workstations. This algorithm distributes both the data and the computations to individual processing units to achieve fast, high-quality rendering of high-resolution data. The volume data, once distributed, is left intact. The processing nodes perform local ray tracing of their subvolume concurrently. No communication between processing units is needed during this locally ray-tracing process. A subimage is generated by each processing unit and the final image is obtained by compositing subimages in the proper order, which can be determined a priori. Test results on both the CM-5 and a group of networked workstations demonstrate the practicality of our rendering algorithm and compositing method.

Sex differences in Alzheimer risk: Brain imaging of endocrine vs chronologic aging.

PubMed

Mosconi, Lisa; Berti, Valentina; Quinn, Crystal; McHugh, Pauline; Petrongolo, Gabriella; Varsavsky, Isabella; Osorio, Ricardo S; Pupi, Alberto; Vallabhajosula, Shankar; Isaacson, Richard S; de Leon, Mony J; Brinton, Roberta Diaz

2017-09-26

This observational multimodality brain imaging study investigates emergence of endophenotypes of late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) risk during endocrine transition states in a cohort of clinically and cognitively normal women and age-matched men. Forty-two 40- to 60-year-old cognitively normal women (15 asymptomatic perimenopausal by age [CNT], 13 perimenopausal [PERI], and 14 postmenopausal [MENO]) and 18 age- and education-matched men were examined. All patients had volumetric MRI, 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG)-PET (glucose metabolism), and Pittsburgh compound B-PET scans (β-amyloid [Aβ] deposition, a hallmark of AD pathology). As expected, the MENO group was older than the PERI and CNT groups. Otherwise, groups were comparable on clinical and neuropsychological measures and APOE4 distribution. Compared to CNT women and to men, and controlling for age, PERI and MENO groups exhibited increased indicators of AD endophenotype, including hypometabolism, increased Aβ deposition, and reduced gray and white matter volumes in AD-vulnerable regions ( p < 0.001). AD biomarker abnormalities were greatest in MENO, intermediate in PERI, and lowest in CNT women ( p < 0.001). Aβ deposition was exacerbated in APOE4 -positive MENO women relative to the other groups ( p < 0.001). Multimodality brain imaging indicates sex differences in development of the AD endophenotype, suggesting that the preclinical AD phase is early in the female aging process and coincides with the endocrine transition of perimenopause. These data indicate that the optimal window of opportunity for therapeutic intervention in women is early in the endocrine aging process. © 2017 American Academy of Neurology.

Central as well as Peripheral Attentional Bottlenecks in Dual-Task Performance Activate Lateral Prefrontal Cortices

PubMed Central

Szameitat, André J.; Vanloo, Azonya; Müller, Hermann J.

2016-01-01

Human information processing suffers from severe limitations in parallel processing. In particular, when required to respond to two stimuli in rapid succession, processing bottlenecks may appear at central and peripheral stages of task processing. Importantly, it has been suggested that executive functions are needed to resolve the interference arising at such bottlenecks. The aims of the present study were to test whether central attentional limitations (i.e., bottleneck at the decisional response selection stage) as well as peripheral limitations (i.e., bottleneck at response initiation) both demand executive functions located in the lateral prefrontal cortex. For this, we re-analyzed two previous studies, in which a total of 33 participants performed a dual-task according to the paradigm of the psychological refractory period (PRP) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In one study (N = 17), the PRP task consisted of two two-choice response tasks known to suffer from a central bottleneck (CB group). In the other study (N = 16), the PRP task consisted of two simple-response tasks known to suffer from a peripheral bottleneck (PB group). Both groups showed considerable dual-task costs in form of slowing of the second response in the dual-task (PRP effect). Imaging results are based on the subtraction of both single-tasks from the dual-task within each group. In the CB group, the bilateral middle frontal gyri and inferior frontal gyri were activated. Higher activation in these areas was associated with lower dual-task costs. In the PB group, the right middle frontal and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were activated. Here, higher activation was associated with higher dual-task costs. In conclusion we suggest that central and peripheral bottlenecks both demand executive functions located in lateral prefrontal cortices (LPFC). Differences between the CB and PB groups with respect to the exact prefrontal areas activated and the correlational patterns suggest that the executive functions resolving interference at least partially differ between the groups. PMID:27014044

Three images of interdisciplinary team meetings.

PubMed

Crepeau, E B

1994-08-01

Teams are an essential aspect of health care today, especially in rehabilitation or chronic illness where the course of care is frequently long, complex, and unpredictable. The coordinative function of teams and their interdisciplinary aspects are thought to improve patient care because team members bring their unique professional skills together to address patient problems. This coordination is enacted through the team meeting, which typically results in an integrated care plan. This professional image of team meetings is explicit and addresses the description and provision of care as objective and rational activities. In contrast, the constructed and ritualistic images of health care team meetings are implicit and concern the less objective and rational aspects of planning care. The constructed image pertains to the definitional activity of team members as they try to understand patient troubles and achieve consensus. This process involves the individual clinical reasoning of team members and the collective reasoning of the group. The ritualistic image is that aspect of team meetings in which the team affirms and reaffirms its collective identity. Drawing from field research of geropsychiatric team meetings, this article defines and explicates these images, focusing on the constructed and ritualistic aspects of team meetings and the influence of these images on group function.

Automated detection of diabetic retinopathy on digital fundus images.

PubMed

Sinthanayothin, C; Boyce, J F; Williamson, T H; Cook, H L; Mensah, E; Lal, S; Usher, D

2002-02-01

The aim was to develop an automated screening system to analyse digital colour retinal images for important features of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). High performance pre-processing of the colour images was performed. Previously described automated image analysis systems were used to detect major landmarks of the retinal image (optic disc, blood vessels and fovea). Recursive region growing segmentation algorithms combined with the use of a new technique, termed a 'Moat Operator', were used to automatically detect features of NPDR. These features included haemorrhages and microaneurysms (HMA), which were treated as one group, and hard exudates as another group. Sensitivity and specificity data were calculated by comparison with an experienced fundoscopist. The algorithm for exudate recognition was applied to 30 retinal images of which 21 contained exudates and nine were without pathology. The sensitivity and specificity for exudate detection were 88.5% and 99.7%, respectively, when compared with the ophthalmologist. HMA were present in 14 retinal images. The algorithm achieved a sensitivity of 77.5% and specificity of 88.7% for detection of HMA. Fully automated computer algorithms were able to detect hard exudates and HMA. This paper presents encouraging results in automatic identification of important features of NPDR.

26 CFR 1.924(e)-1 - Activities relating to the disposition of export property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... build a favorable image of a company or group of companies is not included in this definition of... in connection with the trade show are treated as United States direct costs. (b) Processing of... processing of customer orders and the arranging for delivery of the export property are defined in paragraph...

26 CFR 1.924(e)-1 - Activities relating to the disposition of export property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... build a favorable image of a company or group of companies is not included in this definition of... in connection with the trade show are treated as United States direct costs. (b) Processing of... processing of customer orders and the arranging for delivery of the export property are defined in paragraph...

26 CFR 1.924(e)-1 - Activities relating to the disposition of export property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... build a favorable image of a company or group of companies is not included in this definition of... in connection with the trade show are treated as United States direct costs. (b) Processing of... processing of customer orders and the arranging for delivery of the export property are defined in paragraph...

Colorimetric Topography of Atherosclerotic Lesions by Television Image Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-06-15

image. Indeed, the system is capable of detecting such fine dynamics that epidemiologic factors effecting those changes can not be measured...different occurance patterns and development of clinical atherosclerosis (30). Numerous risk factors have been determined by group comparison and some...techniques and scanners today are much more uniform, and these errors are no longer limiting factors . Since the films were "black and white," and scanned as

An fMRI study measuring analgesia enhanced by religion as a belief system.

PubMed

Wiech, Katja; Farias, Miguel; Kahane, Guy; Shackel, Nicholas; Tiede, Wiebke; Tracey, Irene

2008-10-15

Although religious belief is often claimed to help with physical ailments including pain, it is unclear what psychological and neural mechanisms underlie the influence of religious belief on pain. By analogy to other top-down processes of pain modulation we hypothesized that religious belief helps believers reinterpret the emotional significance of pain, leading to emotional detachment from it. Recent findings on emotion regulation support a role for the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), a region also important for driving top-down pain inhibitory circuits. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in practicing Catholics and avowed atheists and agnostics during painful stimulation, here we show the existence of a context-dependent form of analgesia that was triggered by the presentation of an image with a religious content but not by the presentation of a non-religious image. As confirmed by behavioral data, contemplation of the religious image enabled the religious group to detach themselves from the experience of pain. Critically, this context-dependent modulation of pain specifically engaged the right VLPFC, whereas group-specific preferential liking of one of the pictures was associated with activation in the ventral midbrain. We suggest that religious belief might provide a framework that allows individuals to engage known pain-regulatory brain processes.

Education Catching Up with Science: Preparing Students for Three-Dimensional Literacy in Cell Biology

PubMed Central

Kramer, IJsbrand M.; Dahmani, Hassen-Reda; Delouche, Pamina; Bidabe, Marissa; Schneeberger, Patricia

2012-01-01

The large number of experimentally determined molecular structures has led to the development of a new semiotic system in the life sciences, with increasing use of accurate molecular representations. To determine how this change impacts students’ learning, we incorporated image tests into our introductory cell biology course. Groups of students used a single text dealing with signal transduction, which was supplemented with images made in one of three iconographic styles. Typically, we employed realistic renderings, using computer-generated Protein Data Bank (PDB) structures; realistic-schematic renderings, using shapes inspired by PDB structures; or schematic renderings, using simple geometric shapes to represent cellular components. The control group received a list of keywords. When students were asked to draw and describe the process in their own style and to reply to multiple-choice questions, the three iconographic approaches equally improved the overall outcome of the tests (relative to keywords). Students found the three approaches equally useful but, when asked to select a preferred style, they largely favored a realistic-schematic style. When students were asked to annotate “raw” realistic images, both keywords and schematic representations failed to prepare them for this task. We conclude that supplementary images facilitate the comprehension process and despite their visual clutter, realistic representations do not hinder learning in an introductory course. PMID:23222839

Education catching up with science: preparing students for three-dimensional literacy in cell biology.

PubMed

Kramer, Ijsbrand M; Dahmani, Hassen-Reda; Delouche, Pamina; Bidabe, Marissa; Schneeberger, Patricia

2012-01-01

The large number of experimentally determined molecular structures has led to the development of a new semiotic system in the life sciences, with increasing use of accurate molecular representations. To determine how this change impacts students' learning, we incorporated image tests into our introductory cell biology course. Groups of students used a single text dealing with signal transduction, which was supplemented with images made in one of three iconographic styles. Typically, we employed realistic renderings, using computer-generated Protein Data Bank (PDB) structures; realistic-schematic renderings, using shapes inspired by PDB structures; or schematic renderings, using simple geometric shapes to represent cellular components. The control group received a list of keywords. When students were asked to draw and describe the process in their own style and to reply to multiple-choice questions, the three iconographic approaches equally improved the overall outcome of the tests (relative to keywords). Students found the three approaches equally useful but, when asked to select a preferred style, they largely favored a realistic-schematic style. When students were asked to annotate "raw" realistic images, both keywords and schematic representations failed to prepare them for this task. We conclude that supplementary images facilitate the comprehension process and despite their visual clutter, realistic representations do not hinder learning in an introductory course.

Muon tomography imaging improvement using optimized limited angle data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Chuanyong; Simon, Sean; Kindem, Joel; Luo, Weidong; Sossong, Michael J.; Steiger, Matthew

2014-05-01

Image resolution of muon tomography is limited by the range of zenith angles of cosmic ray muons and the flux rate at sea level. Low flux rate limits the use of advanced data rebinning and processing techniques to improve image quality. By optimizing the limited angle data, however, image resolution can be improved. To demonstrate the idea, physical data of tungsten blocks were acquired on a muon tomography system. The angular distribution and energy spectrum of muons measured on the system was also used to generate simulation data of tungsten blocks of different arrangement (geometry). The data were grouped into subsets using the zenith angle and volume images were reconstructed from the data subsets using two algorithms. One was a distributed PoCA (point of closest approach) algorithm and the other was an accelerated iterative maximal likelihood/expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm. Image resolution was compared for different subsets. Results showed that image resolution was better in the vertical direction for subsets with greater zenith angles and better in the horizontal plane for subsets with smaller zenith angles. The overall image resolution appeared to be the compromise of that of different subsets. This work suggests that the acquired data can be grouped into different limited angle data subsets for optimized image resolution in desired directions. Use of multiple images with resolution optimized in different directions can improve overall imaging fidelity and the intended applications.

Evaluation of the polymerization shrinkage of experimental flowable composite resins through optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carneiro, Vanda S. M.; Mota, Cláudia C. B. O.; Souza, Alex F.; Cajazeira, Marlus R. R.; Gerbi, Marleny E. M. M.; Gomes, Anderson S. L.

2018-02-01

This study evaluated the polymerization shrinkage of two experimental flowable composite resins (CR) with different proportions of Urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) monomers in the organic matrix (50:50 and 60:40, respectively). A commercially available flowable CR, Tetric N-Flow (Ivoclair Vivadent, Liechtenstein, Germany), was employed as the control group. The resins were inserted in a cylindrical teflon mold (7 mm diameter, 0.6 mm height) and scanned with OCT before photoactivation, immediately after and 15 minutes after light-curing (Radii-Cal, SDI, Australia, 1,200 mW/cm2 ) exposure. A Callisto SD-OCT system (Thorlabs Inc, USA), operating at 930 nm central wavelength was employed for imaging acquisition. Cross-sectional OCT images were captured with 8 mm transverse scanning (2000x512 matrix), and processed by the ImageJ software, for comparison between the scanning times and between groups. Pearson correlation showed significant shrinkage for all groups in each time analyzed. Kruskal-Wallis test showed greater polymerization shrinkage for the 50:50 UDMA/TEGDMA group (p=0.001), followed by the control group (p=0.018). TEGDMA concentration was proportionally related to the polymerization shrinkage of the flowable composite resins.

Comparison of five-axis milling and rapid prototyping for implant surgical templates.

PubMed

Park, Ji-Man; Yi, Tae-Kyoung; Koak, Jai-Young; Kim, Seong-Kyoon; Park, Eun-Jin; Heo, Seong-Joo

2014-01-01

This study aims to compare and evaluate the accuracy of surgical templates fabricated using coordinate synchronization processing with five-axis milling and design-related processing with rapid prototyping (RP). Master phantoms with 10 embedded gutta-percha cylinders hidden under artificial gingiva were fabricated and imaged using cone beam computed tomography. Vectors of the hidden cylinders were extracted and transferred to those of the planned implants through reverse engineering using virtual planning software. An RP-produced template was fabricated by stereolithography in photopolymer at the RP center according to planned data. Metal sleeves were bonded after holes were bored (group RP). For the milled template, milling coordinates were synchronized using the conversion process for the coordinate synchronization platform located on the model's bottom. Metal bushings were set on holes milled on the five-axis milling machine, on which the model was fixed through the coordinate synchronization plate, and the framework was constructed on the model using orthodontic resin (group CS). A computed tomography image was taken with templates firmly fixed on models using anchor pins (RP) or anchor screws (CS). The accuracy was analyzed via reverse engineering. Differences between the two groups were compared by repeated measures two-factor analysis. From the reverse-engineered image of the template on the experimental model, RP-produced templates showed significantly larger deviations than did milled surgical guides. Maximum deviations of the group RP were 1.58 mm (horizontal), 1.68 mm (vertical), and 8.51 degrees (angular); those of the group CS were 0.68 mm (horizontal), 0.41 mm (vertical), and 3.23 degrees (angular). A comparison of milling and RP template production methods showed that a vector-milled surgical guide had significantly smaller deviations than did an RP-produced template. The accuracy of computer-guided milled surgical templates was within the safety margin of previous studies.

Is visual image segmentation a bottom-up or an interactive process?

PubMed

Vecera, S P; Farah, M J

1997-11-01

Visual image segmentation is the process by which the visual system groups features that are part of a single shape. Is image segmentation a bottom-up or an interactive process? In Experiments 1 and 2, we presented subjects with two overlapping shapes and asked them to determine whether two probed locations were on the same shape or on different shapes. The availability of top-down support was manipulated by presenting either upright or rotated letters. Subjects were fastest to respond when the shapes corresponded to familiar shapes--the upright letters. In Experiment 3, we used a variant of this segmentation task to rule out the possibility that subjects performed same/different judgments after segmentation and recognition of both letters. Finally, in Experiment 4, we ruled out the possibility that the advantage for upright letters was merely due to faster recognition of upright letters relative to rotated letters. The results suggested that the previous effects were not due to faster recognition of upright letters; stimulus familiarity influenced segmentation per se. The results are discussed in terms of an interactive model of visual image segmentation.

The Pasm Parallel Processing System: Design, Simulation, and Image Processing Applications. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-31

was not funded and the author and other members of the PASM group turned their attention to related studies such as the further definition of the... Four such quadrants comprise the set of MCs and PEs. The logical PE i within each MC group is serviced by MSU i. Figure 1.9.3 shows that the MSUs are...instead of four Data Input Queues and with a 4-by-4 instead of a 2-by-2 crossbar switch could be designed. Studies indicate that the perfor- mance of a

Theoretical and Empirical Comparison of Big Data Image Processing with Apache Hadoop and Sun Grid Engine

PubMed Central

Bao, Shunxing; Weitendorf, Frederick D.; Plassard, Andrew J.; Huo, Yuankai; Gokhale, Aniruddha; Landman, Bennett A.

2016-01-01

The field of big data is generally concerned with the scale of processing at which traditional computational paradigms break down. In medical imaging, traditional large scale processing uses a cluster computer that combines a group of workstation nodes into a functional unit that is controlled by a job scheduler. Typically, a shared-storage network file system (NFS) is used to host imaging data. However, data transfer from storage to processing nodes can saturate network bandwidth when data is frequently uploaded/retrieved from the NFS, e.g., “short” processing times and/or “large” datasets. Recently, an alternative approach using Hadoop and HBase was presented for medical imaging to enable co-location of data storage and computation while minimizing data transfer. The benefits of using such a framework must be formally evaluated against a traditional approach to characterize the point at which simply “large scale” processing transitions into “big data” and necessitates alternative computational frameworks. The proposed Hadoop system was implemented on a production lab-cluster alongside a standard Sun Grid Engine (SGE). Theoretical models for wall-clock time and resource time for both approaches are introduced and validated. To provide real example data, three T1 image archives were retrieved from a university secure, shared web database and used to empirically assess computational performance under three configurations of cluster hardware (using 72, 109, or 209 CPU cores) with differing job lengths. Empirical results match the theoretical models. Based on these data, a comparative analysis is presented for when the Hadoop framework will be relevant and non-relevant for medical imaging. PMID:28736473

A Biologically-Inspired Neural Network Architecture for Image Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

was organized into twelve groups of 8-by-8 node arrays. Weights were con- strained for each group of nodes, with each node "viewing" a 5-by-5 pixel...single wIndow * smk 0; for(J-0; j< 6 4 ; J++)( sum -sum +t %borfi][J]*rfarray[j]; ) /* Finished calculating ore block, one j:,,sition (first layer

The Negotiations of Group Authorship among Second Graders Using Multimedia Composing Software. Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reilly, Brian

Beginning with a review of relevant literature on learning and computers, this report focuses on a group of five second graders in the process of creating a multimedia presentation for their class. Using "StoryShow," software that combines images, sound, and text, the students took on a variety of production roles. Each one contributed…

Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder Associated with Abnormal Bodily Self-Awareness? A Study Using the Rubber Hand Illusion

PubMed Central

Kaplan, Ryan A.; Enticott, Peter G.; Hohwy, Jakob; Castle, David J.; Rossell, Susan L.

2014-01-01

Evidence from past research suggests that behaviours and characteristics related to body dissatisfaction may be associated with greater instability of perceptual body image, possibly due to problems in the integration of body-related multisensory information. We investigated whether people with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a condition characterised by body image disturbances, demonstrated enhanced susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which arises as a result of multisensory integration processes when a rubber hand and the participant's hidden real hand are stimulated in synchrony. Overall, differences in RHI experience between the BDD group and healthy and schizophrenia control groups (n = 17 in each) were not significant. RHI strength, however, was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and related tendencies. For the healthy control group, proprioceptive drift towards the rubber hand was observed following synchronous but not asynchronous stimulation, a typical pattern when inducing the RHI. Similar drifts in proprioceptive awareness occurred for the BDD group irrespective of whether stimulation was synchronous or not. These results are discussed in terms of possible abnormalities in visual processing and multisensory integration among people with BDD. PMID:24925079

ARIES: Enabling Visual Exploration and Organization of Art Image Collections.

PubMed

Crissaff, Lhaylla; Wood Ruby, Louisa; Deutch, Samantha; DuBois, R Luke; Fekete, Jean-Daniel; Freire, Juliana; Silva, Claudio

2018-01-01

Art historians have traditionally used physical light boxes to prepare exhibits or curate collections. On a light box, they can place slides or printed images, move the images around at will, group them as desired, and visual-ly compare them. The transition to digital images has rendered this workflow obsolete. Now, art historians lack well-designed, unified interactive software tools that effectively support the operations they perform with physi-cal light boxes. To address this problem, we designed ARIES (ARt Image Exploration Space), an interactive image manipulation system that enables the exploration and organization of fine digital art. The system allows images to be compared in multiple ways, offering dynamic overlays analogous to a physical light box, and sup-porting advanced image comparisons and feature-matching functions, available through computational image processing. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our system to support art historians tasks through real use cases.

Neuroimaging Feature Terminology: A Controlled Terminology for the Annotation of Brain Imaging Features.

PubMed

Iyappan, Anandhi; Younesi, Erfan; Redolfi, Alberto; Vrooman, Henri; Khanna, Shashank; Frisoni, Giovanni B; Hofmann-Apitius, Martin

2017-01-01

Ontologies and terminologies are used for interoperability of knowledge and data in a standard manner among interdisciplinary research groups. Existing imaging ontologies capture general aspects of the imaging domain as a whole such as methodological concepts or calibrations of imaging instruments. However, none of the existing ontologies covers the diagnostic features measured by imaging technologies in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the Neuro-Imaging Feature Terminology (NIFT) was developed to organize the knowledge domain of measured brain features in association with neurodegenerative diseases by imaging technologies. The purpose is to identify quantitative imaging biomarkers that can be extracted from multi-modal brain imaging data. This terminology attempts to cover measured features and parameters in brain scans relevant to disease progression. In this paper, we demonstrate the systematic retrieval of measured indices from literature and how the extracted knowledge can be further used for disease modeling that integrates neuroimaging features with molecular processes.

VLA neutral hydrogen imaging of compact groups

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, B. A.; Mcmahon, P. M.; Vangorkom, J. H.

1990-01-01

Images of the neutral hydrogen (H I) in the direction of the compact groups of galaxies, HCG 31, HCG 44, and HCG 79 are presented. The authors find in HCG 31 and HCG 79, emission contained within a cloud much larger than the galaxies as well as the entire group. The H I emission associated with HCG 44 is located within the individual galaxies but shows definite signs of tidal interactions. The authors imaged the distribution and kinematics of neutral hydrogen at the two extremes of group sizes represented in Hickson's sample. HCG 44 is at the upper limit while HCG 18, HCG 31, and HCG 79 are at the lower end. Although the number of groups that have been imaged is still very small, there may be a pattern emerging which describes the H I morphology of compact groups. The true nature of compact groups has been the subject of considerable debate and controversy. The most recent observational and theoretical evidence strongly suggests that compact groups are physically dense, dynamical systems that are in the process of merging into a single object (Williams and Rood 1987, Hickson and Rood 1988, Barnes 1989). The neutral hydrogen deficiency observed by Williams and Rood (1987) is consistent with a model in which frequent galactic collisions and interactions have heated some of the gas during the short lifetime of the group. The H I disks which are normally more extended than the luminous ones are expected to be more sensitive to collisions and to trace the galaxy's response to recent interactions. Very Large Array observations can provide in most cases the spatial resolution needed to confirm the dynamical interactions in these systems.

A near-infrared fluorescence-based surgical navigation system imaging software for sentinel lymph node detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Jinzuo; Chi, Chongwei; Zhang, Shuang; Ma, Xibo; Tian, Jie

2014-02-01

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) in vivo detection is vital in breast cancer surgery. A new near-infrared fluorescence-based surgical navigation system (SNS) imaging software, which has been developed by our research group, is presented for SLN detection surgery in this paper. The software is based on the fluorescence-based surgical navigation hardware system (SNHS) which has been developed in our lab, and is designed specifically for intraoperative imaging and postoperative data analysis. The surgical navigation imaging software consists of the following software modules, which mainly include the control module, the image grabbing module, the real-time display module, the data saving module and the image processing module. And some algorithms have been designed to achieve the performance of the software, for example, the image registration algorithm based on correlation matching. Some of the key features of the software include: setting the control parameters of the SNS; acquiring, display and storing the intraoperative imaging data in real-time automatically; analysis and processing of the saved image data. The developed software has been used to successfully detect the SLNs in 21 cases of breast cancer patients. In the near future, we plan to improve the software performance and it will be extensively used for clinical purpose.

Responding mindfully to distressing psychosis: A grounded theory analysis.

PubMed

Abba, Nicola; Chadwick, Paul; Stevenson, Chris

2008-01-01

This study investigates the psychological process involved when people with current distressing psychosis learned to respond mindfully to unpleasant psychotic sensations (voices, thoughts, and images). Sixteen participants were interviewed on completion of a mindfulness group program. Grounded theory methodology was used to generate a theory of the core psychological process using a systematically applied set of methods linking analysis with data collection. The theory inducted describes the experience of relating differently to psychosis through a three-stage process: centering in awareness of psychosis; allowing voices, thoughts, and images to come and go without reacting or struggle; and reclaiming power through acceptance of psychosis and the self. The conceptual and clinical applications of the theory and its limits are discussed.

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography to Distinguish Changes of Choroidal Neovascularization after Anti-VEGF Therapy: Monthly Loading Dose versus Pro Re Nata Regimen.

PubMed

Miere, Alexandra; Oubraham, Hassiba; Amoroso, Francesca; Butori, Pauline; Astroz, Polina; Semoun, Oudy; Bruyere, Elsa; Pedinielli, Alexandre; Addou-Regnard, Manar; Jung, Camille; Cohen, Salomon Y; Souied, Eric H

2018-01-01

To compare the qualitative and quantitative choroidal neovascularization (CNV) changes after antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy in treatment-naïve and treated eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Consecutive patients with neovascular AMD underwent multimodal imaging, including OCTA (AngioPlex, CIRRUS HD-OCT model 5000; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, OH) at baseline and at three monthly follow-up visits. Treatment-naive AMD patients undergoing anti-VEGF loading phase were included in group A, while treated patients were included in group B. Qualitative and quantitative OCTA analyses were performed on outer retina to choriocapillaris (ORCC) slab. CNV size was measured using a free image analysis software (ImageJ, open-source imaging processing software, 2.0.0). Twenty-five eyes of 25 patients were enrolled in our study (mean age 78.32 ± 6.8 years): 13 treatment-naïve eyes in group A and 12 treated eyes in group B. While qualitative analysis revealed no significant differences from baseline to follow-up in the two groups, quantitative analysis showed in group A a significant decrease in lesion area ( P = 0.023); in group B, no significant change in the lesion area was observed during anti-VEGF therapy ( P = 0.93). Treatment-naïve and treated eyes with CNV secondary to neovascular AMD respond differently to anti-VEGF therapy. This should be taken into account when using OCTA for CNV follow-up or planning therapeutic strategies.

Using eye movements to investigate selective attention in chronic daily headache.

PubMed

Liossi, Christina; Schoth, Daniel E; Godwin, Hayward J; Liversedge, Simon P

2014-03-01

Previous research has demonstrated that chronic pain is associated with biased processing of pain-related information. Most studies have examined this bias by measuring response latencies. The present study extended previous work by recording eye movement behaviour in individuals with chronic headache and in healthy controls while participants viewed a set of images (i.e., facial expressions) from 4 emotion categories (pain, angry, happy, neutral). Biases in initial orienting were assessed from the location of the initial shift in gaze, and biases in the maintenance of attention were assessed from the duration of gaze on the picture that was initially fixated, and the mean number of visits, and mean fixation duration per image category. The eye movement behaviour of the participants in the chronic headache group was characterised by a bias in initial shift of orienting to pain. There was no evidence of individuals with chronic headache visiting more often, or spending significantly more time viewing, pain images compared to other images. Both participant groups showed a significantly greater bias to maintain gaze longer on happy images, relative to pain, angry, and neutral images. Results are consistent with a pain-related bias that operates in the orienting of attention on pain-related stimuli, and suggest that chronic pain participants' attentional biases for pain-related information are evident even when other emotional stimuli are present. Pain-related information-processing biases appear to be a robust feature of chronic pain and may have an important role in the maintenance of the disorder. Copyright © 2013 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thigh muscle segmentation of chemical shift encoding-based water-fat magnetic resonance images: The reference database MyoSegmenTUM.

PubMed

Schlaeger, Sarah; Freitag, Friedemann; Klupp, Elisabeth; Dieckmeyer, Michael; Weidlich, Dominik; Inhuber, Stephanie; Deschauer, Marcus; Schoser, Benedikt; Bublitz, Sarah; Montagnese, Federica; Zimmer, Claus; Rummeny, Ernst J; Karampinos, Dimitrios C; Kirschke, Jan S; Baum, Thomas

2018-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can non-invasively assess muscle anatomy, exercise effects and pathologies with different underlying causes such as neuromuscular diseases (NMD). Quantitative MRI including fat fraction mapping using chemical shift encoding-based water-fat MRI has emerged for reliable determination of muscle volume and fat composition. The data analysis of water-fat images requires segmentation of the different muscles which has been mainly performed manually in the past and is a very time consuming process, currently limiting the clinical applicability. An automatization of the segmentation process would lead to a more time-efficient analysis. In the present work, the manually segmented thigh magnetic resonance imaging database MyoSegmenTUM is presented. It hosts water-fat MR images of both thighs of 15 healthy subjects and 4 patients with NMD with a voxel size of 3.2x2x4 mm3 with the corresponding segmentation masks for four functional muscle groups: quadriceps femoris, sartorius, gracilis, hamstrings. The database is freely accessible online at https://osf.io/svwa7/?view_only=c2c980c17b3a40fca35d088a3cdd83e2. The database is mainly meant as ground truth which can be used as training and test dataset for automatic muscle segmentation algorithms. The segmentation allows extraction of muscle cross sectional area (CSA) and volume. Proton density fat fraction (PDFF) of the defined muscle groups from the corresponding images and quadriceps muscle strength measurements/neurological muscle strength rating can be used for benchmarking purposes.

Web-based document image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Frank L.; Thoma, George R.

1999-12-01

Increasing numbers of research libraries are turning to the Internet for electron interlibrary loan and for document delivery to patrons. This has been made possible through the widespread adoption of software such as Ariel and DocView. Ariel, a product of the Research Libraries Group, converts paper-based documents to monochrome bitmapped images, and delivers them over the Internet. The National Library of Medicine's DocView is primarily designed for library patrons are beginning to reap the benefits of this new technology, barriers exist, e.g., differences in image file format, that lead to difficulties in the use of library document information. To research how to overcome such barriers, the Communications Engineering Branch of the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, an R and D division of NLM, has developed a web site called the DocMorph Server. This is part of an ongoing intramural R and D program in document imaging that has spanned many aspects of electronic document conversion and preservation, Internet document transmission and document usage. The DocMorph Server Web site is designed to fill two roles. First, in a role that will benefit both libraries and their patrons, it allows Internet users to upload scanned image files for conversion to alternative formats, thereby enabling wider delivery and easier usage of library document information. Second, the DocMorph Server provides the design team an active test bed for evaluating the effectiveness and utility of new document image processing algorithms and functions, so that they may be evaluated for possible inclusion in other image processing software products being developed at NLM or elsewhere. This paper describes the design of the prototype DocMorph Server and the image processing functions being implemented on it.

Annihilation of photochemical reactivity of photo-alignment layer.

PubMed

Hong, S H; Hwang, Y J; Lee, S G; Shin, D M

2008-09-01

The gas-polymer and liquid-polymer interfacial reactions of photosensitive polyimide can annihilate photo-reactive carbon-carbon double bonds, which remain after photo-alignment process. The annihilation processes dramatically affect voltage holding ratio and reorientation of photo-active functional groups. Photochemical dimerizations were identified using UV-visible and FT-IR spectroscopy. Polyimide films containing cinnamate groups were irradiated by linear polarized ultra violet (LPUV) light. Schadt et al. claims that the photo-alignment results from the anisotropy depletion of the cinnamate side chains as a consequence of the (2+2) cycloaddition reactions. The photo-aligned polyimide induces the orientation of nematic liquid crystals perpendicular to the polarization axis. However, the un-reacted photo-sensitive functional groups generate problems such as image sticking and reduced contrast ratio. Voltage holding ratio and photo-fading observed from photo-alignment layer can be dramatically improved by annihilation process of remnant photoreactive groups.

Monetary reward processing in obese individuals with and without binge eating disorder.

PubMed

Balodis, Iris M; Kober, Hedy; Worhunsky, Patrick D; White, Marney A; Stevens, Michael C; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Sinha, Rajita; Grilo, Carlos M; Potenza, Marc N

2013-05-01

An important step in obesity research involves identifying neurobiological underpinnings of nonfood reward processing unique to specific subgroups of obese individuals. Nineteen obese individuals seeking treatment for binge eating disorder (BED) were compared with 19 non-BED obese individuals (OB) and 19 lean control subjects (LC) while performing a monetary reward/loss task that parses anticipatory and outcome components during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Differences in regional activation were investigated in BED, OB, and LC groups during reward/loss prospect, anticipation, and notification. Relative to the LC group, the OB group demonstrated increased ventral striatal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity during anticipatory phases. In contrast, the BED group relative to the OB group demonstrated diminished bilateral ventral striatal activity during anticipatory reward/loss processing. No differences were observed between the BED and LC groups in the ventral striatum. Heterogeneity exists among obese individuals with respect to the neural correlates of reward/loss processing. Neural differences in separable groups with obesity suggest that multiple, varying interventions might be important in optimizing prevention and treatment strategies for obesity. Copyright © 2013 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Principles of visual key construction-with a visual identification key to the Fagaceae of the southeastern United States.

PubMed

Kirchoff, Bruce K; Leggett, Roxanne; Her, Va; Moua, Chue; Morrison, Jessica; Poole, Chamika

2011-01-01

Advances in digital imaging have made possible the creation of completely visual keys. By a visual key we mean a key based primarily on images, and that contains a minimal amount of text. Characters in visual keys are visually, not verbally defined. In this paper we create the first primarily visual key to a group of taxa, in this case the Fagaceae of the southeastern USA. We also modify our recently published set of best practices for image use in illustrated keys to make them applicable to visual keys. Photographs of the Fagaceae were obtained from internet and herbarium databases or were taken specifically for this project. The images were printed and then sorted into hierarchical groups. These hierarchical groups of images were used to create the 'couplets' in the key. A reciprocal process of key creation and testing was used to produce the final keys. Four keys were created, one for each of the parts-leaves, buds, fruits and bark. Species description pages consisting of multiple images were also created for each of the species in the key. Creation and testing of the key resulted in a modified list of best practices for image use visual keys. The inclusion of images into paper and electronic keys has greatly increased their ease of use. However, virtually all of these keys are still based upon verbally defined, atomistic characters. The creation of primarily visual keys allows us to overcome the well-known limitations of linguistic-based characters and create keys that are much easier to use, especially for botanical novices.

Distance preservation in color image transforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santini, Simone

1999-12-01

Most current image processing systems work on color images, and color is a precious perceptual clue for determining image similarity. Working with color images, however, is not the sam thing as working with images taking values in a 3D Euclidean space. Not only are color spaces bounded, but the characteristics of the observer endow the space with a 'perceptual' metric that in general does not correspond to the metric naturally inherited from R3. This paper studies the problem of filtering color images abstractly. It begins by determining the properties of the color sum and color product operations such that he desirable properties of orthonormal bases will be preserved. The paper then defines a general scheme, based on the action of the additive group on the color space, by which operations that satisfy the required properties can be defined.

Classifying adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) based on functional and structural imaging.

PubMed

Iannaccone, Reto; Hauser, Tobias U; Ball, Juliane; Brandeis, Daniel; Walitza, Susanne; Brem, Silvia

2015-10-01

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common disabling psychiatric disorder associated with consistent deficits in error processing, inhibition and regionally decreased grey matter volumes. The diagnosis is based on clinical presentation, interviews and questionnaires, which are to some degree subjective and would benefit from verification through biomarkers. Here, pattern recognition of multiple discriminative functional and structural brain patterns was applied to classify adolescents with ADHD and controls. Functional activation features in a Flanker/NoGo task probing error processing and inhibition along with structural magnetic resonance imaging data served to predict group membership using support vector machines (SVMs). The SVM pattern recognition algorithm correctly classified 77.78% of the subjects with a sensitivity and specificity of 77.78% based on error processing. Predictive regions for controls were mainly detected in core areas for error processing and attention such as the medial and dorsolateral frontal areas reflecting deficient processing in ADHD (Hart et al., in Hum Brain Mapp 35:3083-3094, 2014), and overlapped with decreased activations in patients in conventional group comparisons. Regions more predictive for ADHD patients were identified in the posterior cingulate, temporal and occipital cortex. Interestingly despite pronounced univariate group differences in inhibition-related activation and grey matter volumes the corresponding classifiers failed or only yielded a poor discrimination. The present study corroborates the potential of task-related brain activation for classification shown in previous studies. It remains to be clarified whether error processing, which performed best here, also contributes to the discrimination of useful dimensions and subtypes, different psychiatric disorders, and prediction of treatment success across studies and sites.

Anterior cingulate hyperactivations during negative emotion processing among men with schizophrenia and a history of violent behavior.

PubMed

Tikàsz, Andràs; Potvin, Stéphane; Lungu, Ovidiu; Joyal, Christian C; Hodgins, Sheilagh; Mendrek, Adrianna; Dumais, Alexandre

2016-01-01

Evidence suggests a 2.1-4.6 times increase in the risk of violent behavior in schizophrenia compared to the general population. Current theories propose that the processing of negative emotions is defective in violent individuals and that dysfunctions within the neural circuits involved in emotion processing are implicated in violence. Although schizophrenia patients show enhanced sensitivity to negative stimuli, there are only few functional neuroimaging studies that have examined emotion processing among men with schizophrenia and a history of violence. The present study aimed to identify the brain regions with greater neurofunctional alterations, as detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging during an emotion processing task, of men with schizophrenia who had engaged in violent behavior compared with those who had not. Sixty men were studied; 20 with schizophrenia and a history of violence, 19 with schizophrenia and no violence, and 21 healthy men were scanned while viewing positive, negative, and neutral images. Negative images elicited hyperactivations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), left and right lingual gyrus, and the left precentral gyrus in violent men with schizophrenia, compared to nonviolent men with schizophrenia and healthy men. Neutral images elicited hyperactivations in the right and left middle occipital gyrus, left lingual gyrus, and the left fusiform gyrus in violent men with schizophrenia, compared to the other two groups. Violent men with schizophrenia displayed specific increases in ACC in response to negative images. Given the role of the ACC in information integration, these results indicate a specific dysfunction in the processing of negative emotions that may trigger violent behavior in men with schizophrenia.

A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study

PubMed Central

Granado, Laura Carmilo; Ranvaud, Ronald; Peláez, Javier Ropero

2007-01-01

We describe a new arachnophobia therapy that is specially suited for those individuals with severe arachnophobia who are reluctant to undergo direct or even virtual exposure treatments. In this therapy, patients attend a computer presentation of images that, while not being spiders, have a subset of the characteristics of spiders. The Atomium of Brussels is an example of such an image. The treatment group (n = 13) exhibited a significant improvement (time × group interaction: P = .0026) when compared to the placebo group (n = 12) in a repeated measures multivariate ANOVA. A k-means clustering algorithm revealed that, after 4 weeks of treatment, 42% of the patients moved from the arachnophobic to the nonarachnophobic cluster. Six months after concluding the treatment, a follow-up study showed a substantial consolidation of the recovery process where 92% of the arachnophobic patients moved to the nonarachnophobic cluster. PMID:17713595

Levels of biomarkers correlate with magnetic resonance imaging progression of knee cartilage degeneration: a study on canine.

PubMed

Qi, Chang; Changlin, Huang

2007-07-01

To examine the association between levers of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), matrix metalloproteinases-1 (MMP-1), matrix metalloproteinases-3 (MMP-3), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) in serum and synovial fluid, and MR imaging of cartilage degeneration in knee joint, and to understand the effects of movement training with different intensity on cartilage of knee joint. 20 adult canines were randomly divided into three groups (8 in the light training group; 8 in the intensive training group; 4 in the control group), and canines of the two training groups were trained daily at different intensity. The training lasted for 10 weeks in all. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations were performed regularly (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 week) to investigate the changes of articular cartilage in the canine knee, while concentrations of COMP, MMP-1, MMP-3, TIMP-1 in serum and synovial fluid were measured by ELISA assays. We could find imaging changes of cartilage degeneration in both the training groups by MRI examination during training period, compared with the control group. However, there was no significant difference between these two training groups. Elevations of levels of COMP, MMP-1, MMP-3, TIMP-1, MMP-3/TIMP-1 were seen in serum and synovial fluid after training, and their levels had obvious association with knee MRI grades of cartilage lesion. Furthermore, there were statistically significant associations between biomarkers levels in serum and in synovial fluid. Long-time and high-intensity movement training induces cartilage degeneration in knee joint. Within the intensity extent applied in this study, knee cartilage degeneration caused by light training or intensive training has no difference in MR imaging, but has a comparatively obvious difference in biomarkers level. To detect articular cartilage degeneration in early stage and monitor pathological process, the associated application of several biomarkers has a very good practical value, and can be used as a helpful supplement to MRI.

Image guidance doses delivered during radiotherapy: Quantification, management, and reduction: Report of the AAPM Therapy Physics Committee Task Group 180.

PubMed

Ding, George X; Alaei, Parham; Curran, Bruce; Flynn, Ryan; Gossman, Michael; Mackie, T Rock; Miften, Moyed; Morin, Richard; Xu, X George; Zhu, Timothy C

2018-05-01

With radiotherapy having entered the era of image guidance, or image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), imaging procedures are routinely performed for patient positioning and target localization. The imaging dose delivered may result in excessive dose to sensitive organs and potentially increase the chance of secondary cancers and, therefore, needs to be managed. This task group was charged with: a) providing an overview on imaging dose, including megavoltage electronic portal imaging (MV EPI), kilovoltage digital radiography (kV DR), Tomotherapy MV-CT, megavoltage cone-beam CT (MV-CBCT) and kilovoltage cone-beam CT (kV-CBCT), and b) providing general guidelines for commissioning dose calculation methods and managing imaging dose to patients. We briefly review the dose to radiotherapy (RT) patients resulting from different image guidance procedures and list typical organ doses resulting from MV and kV image acquisition procedures. We provide recommendations for managing the imaging dose, including different methods for its calculation, and techniques for reducing it. The recommended threshold beyond which imaging dose should be considered in the treatment planning process is 5% of the therapeutic target dose. Although the imaging dose resulting from current kV acquisition procedures is generally below this threshold, the ALARA principle should always be applied in practice. Medical physicists should make radiation oncologists aware of the imaging doses delivered to patients under their care. Balancing ALARA with the requirement for effective target localization requires that imaging dose be managed based on the consideration of weighing risks and benefits to the patient. © 2018 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Automated interpretation of ventilation-perfusion lung scintigrams for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism using artificial neural networks.

PubMed

Holst, H; Aström, K; Järund, A; Palmer, J; Heyden, A; Kahl, F; Tägil, K; Evander, E; Sparr, G; Edenbrandt, L

2000-04-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a completely automated method for the interpretation of ventilation-perfusion (V-P) lung scintigrams used in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. An artificial neural network was trained for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism using 18 automatically obtained features from each set of V-P scintigrams. The techniques used to process the images included their alignment to templates, the construction of quotient images based on the ventilation and perfusion images, and the calculation of measures describing V-P mismatches in the quotient images. The templates represented lungs of normal size and shape without any pathological changes. Images that could not be properly aligned to the templates were detected and excluded automatically. After exclusion of those V-P scintigrams not properly aligned to the templates, 478 V-P scintigrams remained in a training group of consecutive patients with suspected pulmonary embolism, and a further 87 V-P scintigrams formed a separate test group comprising patients who had undergone pulmonary angiography. The performance of the neural network, measured as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, was 0.87 (95% confidence limits 0.82-0.92) in the training group and 0.79 (0.69-0.88) in the test group. It is concluded that a completely automated method can be used for the interpretation of V-P scintigrams. The performance of this method is similar to others previously presented, whereby features were extracted manually.

Social behavior and kin discrimination in a mixed group of cloned and non cloned heifers (Bos taurus).

PubMed

Coulon, M; Baudoin, C; Abdi, H; Heyman, Y; Deputte, B L

2010-12-01

For more than ten years, reproductive biotechnologies using somatic cell nuclear transfer have made possible the production of cloned animals in various domestic and laboratory species. The influence of the cloning process on offspring characteristics has been studied in various developmental aspects, however, it has not yet been documented in detail for behavioral traits. Behavioral studies of cloned animals have failed to show clear inter-individual differences associated with the cloning process. Preliminary results showed that clones favor each other's company. Preferential social interactions were observed among cloned heifers from the same donor in a mixed herd that also included cloned heifers and control heifers produced by artificial insemination (AI). These results suggest behavioral differences between cloned and non-cloned animals and similarities between clones from the same donor. The aim of the present study was to replicate and to extend these previous results and to study behavioral and cognitive mechanisms of this preferential grouping. We studied a group composed of five cloned heifers derived from the same donor cow, two cloned heifers derived from another donor cow, and AI heifers. Cloned heifers from the same donor were more spatially associated and interacted more between themselves than with heifers derived from another donor or with the AI individuals. This pattern indicates a possible kin discrimination in clones. To study this process, we performed an experiment (using an instrumental conditioning procedure with food reward) of visual discrimination between images of heads of familiar heifers, either related to the subjects or not. The results showed that all subjects (AI and cloned heifers) discriminated between images of familiar cloned heifers produced from the same donor and images of familiar unrelated heifers. Cattle discriminated well between images and used morphological similarities characteristic of cloned related heifers. Our results suggest similar cognitive capacities of kin and non kin discrimination in AI and cloned animals. Kinship may be a common factor in determining the social grouping within a herd. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reengineering the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) process for digital imaging networks PACS.

PubMed

Horton, M C; Lewis, T E; Kinsey, T V

1999-05-01

Prior to June 1997, military picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) were planned, procured, and installed with key decisions on the system, equipment, and even funding sources made through a research and development office called Medical Diagnostic Imaging Systems (MDIS). Beginning in June 1997, the Joint Imaging Technology Project Office (JITPO) initiated a collaborative and consultative process for planning and implementing PACS into military treatment facilities through a new Department of Defense (DoD) contract vehicle called digital imaging networks (DIN)-PACS. The JITPO reengineered this process incorporating multiple organizations and politics. The reengineered PACS process administered through the JITPO transformed the decision process and accountability from a single office to a consultative method that increased end-user knowledge, responsibility, and ownership in PACS. The JITPO continues to provide information and services that assist multiple groups and users in rendering PACS planning and implementation decisions. Local site project managers are involved from the outset and this end-user collaboration has made the sometimes difficult transition to PACS an easier and more acceptable process for all involved. Corporately, this process saved DoD sites millions by having PACS plans developed within the government and proposed to vendors second, and then having vendors respond specifically to those plans. The integrity and efficiency of the process have reduced the opportunity for implementing nonstandard systems while sharing resources and reducing wasted government dollars. This presentation will describe the chronology of changes, encountered obstacles, and lessons learned within the reengineering of the PACS process for DIN-PACS.

Abnormal neural hierarchy in processing of verbal information in patients with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Lerner, Yulia; Bleich-Cohen, Maya; Solnik-Knirsh, Shimrit; Yogev-Seligmann, Galit; Eisenstein, Tamir; Madah, Waheed; Shamir, Alon; Hendler, Talma; Kremer, Ilana

2018-01-01

Previous research indicates abnormal comprehension of verbal information in patients with schizophrenia. Yet the neural mechanism underlying the breakdown of verbal information processing in schizophrenia is poorly understood. Imaging studies in healthy populations have shown a network of brain areas involved in hierarchical processing of verbal information over time. Here, we identified critical aspects of this hierarchy, examining patients with schizophrenia. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined various levels of information comprehension elicited by naturally presented verbal stimuli; from a set of randomly shuffled words to an intact story. Specifically, patients with first episode schizophrenia ( N  = 15), their non-manifesting siblings ( N  = 14) and healthy controls ( N  = 15) listened to a narrated story and randomly scrambled versions of it. To quantify the degree of dissimilarity between the groups, we adopted an inter-subject correlation (inter-SC) approach, which estimates differences in synchronization of neural responses within and between groups. The temporal topography found in healthy and siblings groups were consistent with our previous findings - high synchronization in responses from early sensory toward high order perceptual and cognitive areas. In patients with schizophrenia, stimuli with short and intermediate temporal scales evoked a typical pattern of reliable responses, whereas story condition (long temporal scale) revealed robust and widespread disruption of the inter-SCs. In addition, the more similar the neural activity of patients with schizophrenia was to the average response in the healthy group, the less severe the positive symptoms of the patients. Our findings suggest that system-level neural indication of abnormal verbal information processing in schizophrenia reflects disease manifestations.

Quantitative nailfold capillaroscopy findings in a population with connective tissue disease and in normal healthy controls.

PubMed Central

Kabasakal, Y; Elvins, D M; Ring, E F; McHugh, N J

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To describe and quantify the morphological characteristics of nailfold capillaries that distinguish different forms of connective tissue disease from healthy controls. METHODS: A CCD video microscope with fibreoptic illumination and PC based image processing was used to visualise nailfold capillaries and to quantify findings in 23 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), 22 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 21 patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD), and 38 healthy controls. RESULTS: Capillary density was reduced in SSc (5.2 (SD 1.3) capillaries/mm) compared with other patient groups and controls. The average number of enlarged capillaries/finger was high in all disease groups (5.5-6.6) compared with controls (2). However, giant capillaries were most frequent in SSc (43%) and were not present in controls. Mild and moderate avascular areas were present in all groups (35%-68%), but severe avascularity was most frequent in SSc (44%) compared with other patients (18%-19%) and controls (0%). The greatest frequency of extensive haemorrhage was in SSc (35%). CONCLUSIONS: There is a range of abnormal capillary findings in patients with connective tissue disease and healthy controls. However, certain abnormalities such as a reduced number of capillaries, severe avascularity, giant capillaries, and haemorrhage are most commonly associated with SSc. Videomicroscopy with image processing offers many technical advantages that can be exploited in further studies of nailfold capillaries. Images PMID:8774177

Spatial resolution requirements for soft-copy reporting in digital radiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Andrew G.; Cowen, Arnold R.; Fowler, Richard C.; Bury, Robert F.; Parkin, Geoff J. S.; Lintott, David J.; Martinez, Delia; Safudim, Asif

1996-04-01

The issue of the spatial resolution required in order to present diagnostic quality digital images, especially for softcopy reporting, has received much attention over recent years. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance reporting from hardcopy and optimized softcopy image presentations. One-hundred-fifteen radiographs of the hand acquired on a photostimulable phosphor computed radiography (CR) system were chosen as the image material. The study group was taken from patients who demonstrated subtle erosions of the bone in the digits. The control group consisted of radiologically normal bands. The images were presented in three modes, the CR system's hardcopy output, and softcopy presentations at full and half spatial resolutions. Four consultant radiologists participated as observers. Results were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) technique, and showed a statistically significant improvement in observer performance for both softcopy formats, when compared to the hardcopy presentation. However, no significant difference in observer performance was found between the two softcopy presentations. We therefore conclude that, with appropriate attention to the processing and presentation of digital image data, softcopy reporting can, for most examinations, provide superior diagnostic performance, even for images viewed at modest (1 k2) resolutions.

Low-cost oblique illumination: an image quality assessment.

PubMed

Ruiz-Santaquiteria, Jesus; Espinosa-Aranda, Jose Luis; Deniz, Oscar; Sanchez, Carlos; Borrego-Ramos, Maria; Blanco, Saul; Cristobal, Gabriel; Bueno, Gloria

2018-01-01

We study the effectiveness of several low-cost oblique illumination filters to improve overall image quality, in comparison with standard bright field imaging. For this purpose, a dataset composed of 3360 diatom images belonging to 21 taxa was acquired. Subjective and objective image quality assessments were done. The subjective evaluation was performed by a group of diatom experts by psychophysical test where resolution, focus, and contrast were assessed. Moreover, some objective nonreference image quality metrics were applied to the same image dataset to complete the study, together with the calculation of several texture features to analyze the effect of these filters in terms of textural properties. Both image quality evaluation methods, subjective and objective, showed better results for images acquired using these illumination filters in comparison with the no filtered image. These promising results confirm that this kind of illumination filters can be a practical way to improve the image quality, thanks to the simple and low cost of the design and manufacturing process. (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state

PubMed Central

Desbordes, Gaëlle; Negi, Lobsang T.; Pace, Thaddeus W. W.; Wallace, B. Alan; Raison, Charles L.; Schwartz, Eric L.

2012-01-01

The amygdala has been repeatedly implicated in emotional processing of both positive and negative-valence stimuli. Previous studies suggest that the amygdala response to emotional stimuli is lower when the subject is in a meditative state of mindful-attention, both in beginner meditators after an 8-week meditation intervention and in expert meditators. However, the longitudinal effects of meditation training on amygdala responses have not been reported when participants are in an ordinary, non-meditative state. In this study, we investigated how 8 weeks of training in meditation affects amygdala responses to emotional stimuli in subjects when in a non-meditative state. Healthy adults with no prior meditation experience took part in 8 weeks of either Mindful Attention Training (MAT), Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT; a program based on Tibetan Buddhist compassion meditation practices), or an active control intervention. Before and after the intervention, participants underwent an fMRI experiment during which they were presented images with positive, negative, and neutral emotional valences from the IAPS database while remaining in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Using a region-of-interest analysis, we found a longitudinal decrease in right amygdala activation in the Mindful Attention group in response to positive images, and in response to images of all valences overall. In the CBCT group, we found a trend increase in right amygdala response to negative images, which was significantly correlated with a decrease in depression score. No effects or trends were observed in the control group. This finding suggests that the effects of meditation training on emotional processing might transfer to non-meditative states. This is consistent with the hypothesis that meditation training may induce learning that is not stimulus- or task-specific, but process-specific, and thereby may result in enduring changes in mental function. PMID:23125828

Auditing fetal nasal bone images in the first trimester of pregnancy: results from a peer review program.

PubMed

Palermo, Fernanda Gasparin; Albuquerque, Débora de Paula Soares de Medeiros; Martins, Wellington P; Araujo Júnior, Edward; Bruns, Rafael Frederico

2016-09-01

To establish a structured review process to facilitate the identification of the fetal nasal bone (NB) in the first trimester ultrasound scan to improve the quality images. We conducted a retrospective observational study in fetal NB images obtained during ultrasound exams of singleton pregnancies that underwent first trimester screening (crown-rump length 45-84 mm). When the images were obtained the examiner was not aware of the study. Audit was conducted by an examiner according criteria established by the Fetal Medicine Foundation. Fetal NB images were assessed regarding adequate magnification, mid-sagittal view and transducer held parallel to the direction of the nose. The transvaginal and transabdominal as well as anterior and posterior fetal back groups were compared using χ(2) test. We considered 874 fetal NB images for auditing. Fetal NB was considered present in 865 images (99%). During the audit process, we identified 72 (8.2%) cases of disagreement between examiner and auditor assessments. Disagreement was higher when image quality was poor (62 cases = 7%). Transvaginal approach performed better in the following criteria: adequate magnification (p < 0.001), midline (p < 0.001) and completely adequate (p < 0.001). A peer reviewed audit program for fetal NB is feasible in a clinical scenario. Image quality appears to play an important role in compliance to image standards audited and in agreement between examiner and auditor.

Identification of Campylobacter with hyperspectral microscope imaging

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Campylobacter is the major group of bacteria responsible for foodborne gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. Most of the cases of campylobacteriosis have revealed their poultry origins so that various detection methods have been employed from the farm to processing levels. Especially Campylobacter ...

Deblurring of Class-Averaged Images in Single-Particle Electron Microscopy.

PubMed

Park, Wooram; Madden, Dean R; Rockmore, Daniel N; Chirikjian, Gregory S

2010-03-01

This paper proposes a method for deblurring of class-averaged images in single-particle electron microscopy (EM). Since EM images of biological samples are very noisy, the images which are nominally identical projection images are often grouped, aligned and averaged in order to cancel or reduce the background noise. However, the noise in the individual EM images generates errors in the alignment process, which creates an inherent limit on the accuracy of the resulting class averages. This inaccurate class average due to the alignment errors can be viewed as the result of a convolution of an underlying clear image with a blurring function. In this work, we develop a deconvolution method that gives an estimate for the underlying clear image from a blurred class-averaged image using precomputed statistics of misalignment. Since this convolution is over the group of rigid body motions of the plane, SE(2), we use the Fourier transform for SE(2) in order to convert the convolution into a matrix multiplication in the corresponding Fourier space. For practical implementation we use a Hermite-function-based image modeling technique, because Hermite expansions enable lossless Cartesian-polar coordinate conversion using the Laguerre-Fourier expansions, and Hermite expansion and Laguerre-Fourier expansion retain their structures under the Fourier transform. Based on these mathematical properties, we can obtain the deconvolution of the blurred class average using simple matrix multiplication. Tests of the proposed deconvolution method using synthetic and experimental EM images confirm the performance of our method.

General-purpose interface bus for multiuser, multitasking computer system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Generazio, Edward R.; Roth, Don J.; Stang, David B.

1990-01-01

The architecture of a multiuser, multitasking, virtual-memory computer system intended for the use by a medium-size research group is described. There are three central processing units (CPU) in the configuration, each with 16 MB memory, and two 474 MB hard disks attached. CPU 1 is designed for data analysis and contains an array processor for fast-Fourier transformations. In addition, CPU 1 shares display images viewed with the image processor. CPU 2 is designed for image analysis and display. CPU 3 is designed for data acquisition and contains 8 GPIB channels and an analog-to-digital conversion input/output interface with 16 channels. Up to 9 users can access the third CPU simultaneously for data acquisition. Focus is placed on the optimization of hardware interfaces and software, facilitating instrument control, data acquisition, and processing.

Research on interpolation methods in medical image processing.

PubMed

Pan, Mei-Sen; Yang, Xiao-Li; Tang, Jing-Tian

2012-04-01

Image interpolation is widely used for the field of medical image processing. In this paper, interpolation methods are divided into three groups: filter interpolation, ordinary interpolation and general partial volume interpolation. Some commonly-used filter methods for image interpolation are pioneered, but the interpolation effects need to be further improved. When analyzing and discussing ordinary interpolation, many asymmetrical kernel interpolation methods are proposed. Compared with symmetrical kernel ones, the former are have some advantages. After analyzing the partial volume and generalized partial volume estimation interpolations, the new concept and constraint conditions of the general partial volume interpolation are defined, and several new partial volume interpolation functions are derived. By performing the experiments of image scaling, rotation and self-registration, the interpolation methods mentioned in this paper are compared in the entropy, peak signal-to-noise ratio, cross entropy, normalized cross-correlation coefficient and running time. Among the filter interpolation methods, the median and B-spline filter interpolations have a relatively better interpolating performance. Among the ordinary interpolation methods, on the whole, the symmetrical cubic kernel interpolations demonstrate a strong advantage, especially the symmetrical cubic B-spline interpolation. However, we have to mention that they are very time-consuming and have lower time efficiency. As for the general partial volume interpolation methods, from the total error of image self-registration, the symmetrical interpolations provide certain superiority; but considering the processing efficiency, the asymmetrical interpolations are better.

Towards 3D Matching of Point Clouds Derived from Oblique and Nadir Airborne Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ming

Because of the low-expense high-efficient image collection process and the rich 3D and texture information presented in the images, a combined use of 2D airborne nadir and oblique images to reconstruct 3D geometric scene has a promising market for future commercial usage like urban planning or first responders. The methodology introduced in this thesis provides a feasible way towards fully automated 3D city modeling from oblique and nadir airborne imagery. In this thesis, the difficulty of matching 2D images with large disparity is avoided by grouping the images first and applying the 3D registration afterward. The procedure starts with the extraction of point clouds using a modified version of the RIT 3D Extraction Workflow. Then the point clouds are refined by noise removal and surface smoothing processes. Since the point clouds extracted from different image groups use independent coordinate systems, there are translation, rotation and scale differences existing. To figure out these differences, 3D keypoints and their features are extracted. For each pair of point clouds, an initial alignment and a more accurate registration are applied in succession. The final transform matrix presents the parameters describing the translation, rotation and scale requirements. The methodology presented in the thesis has been shown to behave well for test data. The robustness of this method is discussed by adding artificial noise to the test data. For Pictometry oblique aerial imagery, the initial alignment provides a rough alignment result, which contains a larger offset compared to that of test data because of the low quality of the point clouds themselves, but it can be further refined through the final optimization. The accuracy of the final registration result is evaluated by comparing it to the result obtained from manual selection of matched points. Using the method introduced, point clouds extracted from different image groups could be combined with each other to build a more complete point cloud, or be used as a complement to existing point clouds extracted from other sources. This research will both improve the state of the art of 3D city modeling and inspire new ideas in related fields.

Multilevel principal component analysis (mPCA) in shape analysis: A feasibility study in medical and dental imaging.

PubMed

Farnell, D J J; Popat, H; Richmond, S

2016-06-01

Methods used in image processing should reflect any multilevel structures inherent in the image dataset or they run the risk of functioning inadequately. We wish to test the feasibility of multilevel principal components analysis (PCA) to build active shape models (ASMs) for cases relevant to medical and dental imaging. Multilevel PCA was used to carry out model fitting to sets of landmark points and it was compared to the results of "standard" (single-level) PCA. Proof of principle was tested by applying mPCA to model basic peri-oral expressions (happy, neutral, sad) approximated to the junction between the mouth/lips. Monte Carlo simulations were used to create this data which allowed exploration of practical implementation issues such as the number of landmark points, number of images, and number of groups (i.e., "expressions" for this example). To further test the robustness of the method, mPCA was subsequently applied to a dental imaging dataset utilising landmark points (placed by different clinicians) along the boundary of mandibular cortical bone in panoramic radiographs of the face. Changes of expression that varied between groups were modelled correctly at one level of the model and changes in lip width that varied within groups at another for the Monte Carlo dataset. Extreme cases in the test dataset were modelled adequately by mPCA but not by standard PCA. Similarly, variations in the shape of the cortical bone were modelled by one level of mPCA and variations between the experts at another for the panoramic radiographs dataset. Results for mPCA were found to be comparable to those of standard PCA for point-to-point errors via miss-one-out testing for this dataset. These errors reduce with increasing number of eigenvectors/values retained, as expected. We have shown that mPCA can be used in shape models for dental and medical image processing. mPCA was found to provide more control and flexibility when compared to standard "single-level" PCA. Specifically, mPCA is preferable to "standard" PCA when multiple levels occur naturally in the dataset. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

World-Wide Web Tools for Locating Planetary Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kanefsky, Bob; Deiss, Ron (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

The explosive growth of the World-Wide Web (WWW) in the past year has made it feasible to provide interactive graphical tools to assist scientists in locating planetary images. The highest available resolution images of any site of interest can be quickly found on a map or plot, and, if online, displayed immediately on nearly any computer equipped with a color screen, an Internet connection, and any of the free WWW browsers. The same tools may also be of interest to educators, students, and the general public. Image finding tools have been implemented covering most of the solar system: Earth, Mars, and the moons and planets imaged by Voyager. The Mars image-finder, which plots the footprints of all the high-resolution Viking Orbiter images and can be used to display any that are available online, also contains a complete scrollable atlas and hypertext gazetteer to help locating areas. The Earth image-finder is linked to thousands of Shuttle images stored at NASA/JSC, and displays them as red dots on a globe. The Voyager image-finder plots images as dots, by longitude and apparent target size, linked to online images. The locator (URL) for the top-level page is http: //ic-www.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/. Through the efforts of the Planetary Data System and other organizations, hundreds of thousands of planetary images are now available on CD-ROM, and many of these have been made available on the WWW. However, locating images of a desired site is still problematic, in practice. For example, many scientists studying Mars use digital image maps, which are one third the resolution of Viking Orbiter survey images. When they douse Viking Orbiter images, they often work with photographically printed hardcopies, which lack the flexibility of digital images: magnification, contrast stretching, and other basic image-processing techniques offered by off-the-shelf software. From the perspective of someone working on an experimental image processing technique for super-resolution, the discovery that potential users are often not using the highest resolution already available, nor using conventional image processing techniques, was surprising. This motivated the present work.

Segmenting texts from outdoor images taken by mobile phones using color features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zongyi; Zhou, Hanning

2011-01-01

Recognizing texts from images taken by mobile phones with low resolution has wide applications. It has been shown that a good image binarization can substantially improve the performances of OCR engines. In this paper, we present a framework to segment texts from outdoor images taken by mobile phones using color features. The framework consists of three steps: (i) the initial process including image enhancement, binarization and noise filtering, where we binarize the input images in each RGB channel, and apply component level noise filtering; (ii) grouping components into blocks using color features, where we compute the component similarities by dynamically adjusting the weights of RGB channels, and merge groups hierachically, and (iii) blocks selection, where we use the run-length features and choose the Support Vector Machine (SVM) as the classifier. We tested the algorithm using 13 outdoor images taken by an old-style LG-64693 mobile phone with 640x480 resolution. We compared the segmentation results with Tsar's algorithm, a state-of-the-art camera text detection algorithm, and show that our algorithm is more robust, particularly in terms of the false alarm rates. In addition, we also evaluated the impacts of our algorithm on the Abbyy's FineReader, one of the most popular commercial OCR engines in the market.

CT-based attenuation and scatter correction compared with uniform attenuation correction in brain perfusion SPECT imaging for dementia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillen, Rebecca; Firbank, Michael J.; Lloyd, Jim; O'Brien, John T.

2015-09-01

This study investigated if the appearance and diagnostic accuracy of HMPAO brain perfusion SPECT images could be improved by using CT-based attenuation and scatter correction compared with the uniform attenuation correction method. A cohort of subjects who were clinically categorized as Alzheimer’s Disease (n=38 ), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (n=29 ) or healthy normal controls (n=30 ), underwent SPECT imaging with Tc-99m HMPAO and a separate CT scan. The SPECT images were processed using: (a) correction map derived from the subject’s CT scan or (b) the Chang uniform approximation for correction or (c) no attenuation correction. Images were visually inspected. The ratios between key regions of interest known to be affected or spared in each condition were calculated for each correction method, and the differences between these ratios were evaluated. The images produced using the different corrections were noted to be visually different. However, ROI analysis found similar statistically significant differences between control and dementia groups and between AD and DLB groups regardless of the correction map used. We did not identify an improvement in diagnostic accuracy in images which were corrected using CT-based attenuation and scatter correction, compared with those corrected using a uniform correction map.

Parallel algorithm of real-time infrared image restoration based on total variation theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Ran; Li, Miao; Long, Yunli; Zeng, Yaoyuan; An, Wei

2015-10-01

Image restoration is a necessary preprocessing step for infrared remote sensing applications. Traditional methods allow us to remove the noise but penalize too much the gradients corresponding to edges. Image restoration techniques based on variational approaches can solve this over-smoothing problem for the merits of their well-defined mathematical modeling of the restore procedure. The total variation (TV) of infrared image is introduced as a L1 regularization term added to the objective energy functional. It converts the restoration process to an optimization problem of functional involving a fidelity term to the image data plus a regularization term. Infrared image restoration technology with TV-L1 model exploits the remote sensing data obtained sufficiently and preserves information at edges caused by clouds. Numerical implementation algorithm is presented in detail. Analysis indicates that the structure of this algorithm can be easily implemented in parallelization. Therefore a parallel implementation of the TV-L1 filter based on multicore architecture with shared memory is proposed for infrared real-time remote sensing systems. Massive computation of image data is performed in parallel by cooperating threads running simultaneously on multiple cores. Several groups of synthetic infrared image data are used to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed parallel algorithm. Quantitative analysis of measuring the restored image quality compared to input image is presented. Experiment results show that the TV-L1 filter can restore the varying background image reasonably, and that its performance can achieve the requirement of real-time image processing.

Algorithm-Based Motion Magnification for Video Processing in Urological Laparoscopy.

PubMed

Adams, Fabian; Schoelly, Reto; Schlager, Daniel; Schoenthaler, Martin; Schoeb, Dominik S; Wilhelm, Konrad; Hein, Simon; Wetterauer, Ulrich; Miernik, Arkadiusz

2017-06-01

Minimally invasive surgery is in constant further development and has replaced many conventional operative procedures. If vascular structure movement could be detected during these procedures, it could reduce the risk of vascular injury and conversion to open surgery. The recently proposed motion-amplifying algorithm, Eulerian Video Magnification (EVM), has been shown to substantially enhance minimal object changes in digitally recorded video that is barely perceptible to the human eye. We adapted and examined this technology for use in urological laparoscopy. Video sequences of routine urological laparoscopic interventions were recorded and further processed using spatial decomposition and filtering algorithms. The freely available EVM algorithm was investigated for its usability in real-time processing. In addition, a new image processing technology, the CRS iimotion Motion Magnification (CRSMM) algorithm, was specifically adjusted for endoscopic requirements, applied, and validated by our working group. Using EVM, no significant motion enhancement could be detected without severe impairment of the image resolution, motion, and color presentation. The CRSMM algorithm significantly improved image quality in terms of motion enhancement. In particular, the pulsation of vascular structures could be displayed more accurately than in EVM. Motion magnification image processing technology has the potential for clinical importance as a video optimizing modality in endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery. Barely detectable (micro)movements can be visualized using this noninvasive marker-free method. Despite these optimistic results, the technology requires considerable further technical development and clinical tests.

Computer-based detection of diabetes retinopathy stages using digital fundus images.

PubMed

Acharya, U R; Lim, C M; Ng, E Y K; Chee, C; Tamura, T

2009-07-01

Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome characterized by hyperglycaemia and the long-term complications are retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, and cardiomyopathy. It is a leading cause of blindness. Diabetic retinopathy is the progressive pathological alterations in the retinal microvasculature, leading to areas of retinal nonperfusion, increased vascular permeability, and the pathological proliferation of retinal vessels. Hence, it is beneficial to have regular cost-effective eye screening for diabetes subjects. Nowadays, different stages of diabetes retinopathy are detected by retinal examination using indirect biomicroscopy by senior ophthalmologists. In this work, morphological image processing and support vector machine (SVM) techniques were used for the automatic diagnosis of eye health. In this study, 331 fundus images were analysed. Five groups were identified: normal retina, mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Four salient features blood vessels, microaneurysms, exudates, and haemorrhages were extracted from the raw images using image-processing techniques and fed to the SVM for classification. A sensitivity of more than 82 per cent and specificity of 86 per cent was demonstrated for the system developed.

Visual attentional bias for food in adolescents with binge-eating disorder.

PubMed

Schmidt, Ricarda; Lüthold, Patrick; Kittel, Rebekka; Tetzlaff, Anne; Hilbert, Anja

2016-09-01

Evidence suggests that adults with binge-eating disorder (BED) are prone of having their attention interfered by food cues, and that food-related attentional biases are associated with calorie intake and eating disorder psychopathology. For adolescents with BED experimental evidence on attentional processing of food cues is lacking. Using eye-tracking and a visual search task, the present study examined visual orienting and disengagement processes of food in youth with BED. Eye-movement data and reaction times were recorded in 25 adolescents (12-20 years) with BED and 25 controls (CG) individually matched for sex, age, body mass index, and socio-economic status. During a free exploration paradigm, the BED group showed a greater gaze duration bias for food images than the CG. Groups did not differ in gaze direction biases. In a visual search task, the BED group showed a greater detection bias for food targets than the CG. Group differences were more pronounced for personally attractive than unattractive food images. Regarding clinical associations, only in the BED group the gaze duration bias for food was associated with increased hunger and lower body mass index, and the detection bias for food targets was associated with greater reward sensitivity. The study provided first evidence of an attentional bias to food in adolescents with BED. However, more research is needed for further specifying disengagement and orienting processes in adolescent BED, including overt and covert attention, and their prospective associations with binge-eating behaviors and associated psychopathology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GALEX Imaging Study of the HI Filaments in M81 Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yun, Min

We propose to obtain sensitive, wide-field GALEX NUV and FUV images of the area surrounding the central four main members of the M81 group (M81, M82, NGC~2976, NGC~3077) as an integral part of our multi-wavelength observational program to explore the star formation activity, associated radiation field, and details of galaxy evolution/transformation within the group. We will add two pointings adjacent to the Cy-1 program pointing of the M81-M82 field by Huchra et al. (GI1-071) to the same depth (sufficient to detect star formation activity expected for a mean HI column density of a few times 10^18 per cm^2 with S/N>5) to cover most of the 3 degree diameter region we have imaged in 21cm HI line using the VLA, DRAO, and GBT. By combining with our imaging data from IR (Spitzer Cy-2), optical/IR (SDSS, 2MASS), and CO (FCRAO) surveys, we will conduct an extensive quantitative analysis on the distribution of cold gas and dust and star formation activity traced in UV and IR associated with the extensive array of HI tidal streamers. Because of its proximity, M81 group is one of the few extragalactic systems where such analysis can be made at spatial resolution of 100 pc or better. The high quality HI, CO, and dust maps (plus the dyanmical models for the group interactions) make this group an exceptional laboratory for determining the star formation and tidal dwarf formation process.

Fundamentals of nuclear medicine

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

Alazraki, N.P.; Mishkin, F.S.

1988-01-01

The book begins with basic science and statistics relevant to nuclear medicine, and specific organ systems are addressed in separate chapters. A section of the text also covers imaging of groups of disease processes (eg, trauma, cancer). The authors present a comparison between nuclear medicine techniques and other diagnostic imaging studies. A table is given which comments on sensitivities and specificities of common nuclear medicine studies. The sensitivities and specificities are categorized as very high, high, moderate, and so forth.

Spatial frequency characteristics at image decision-point locations for observers with different radiological backgrounds in lung nodule detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietrzyk, Mariusz W.; Manning, David J.; Dix, Alan; Donovan, Tim

2009-02-01

Aim: The goal of the study is to determine the spatial frequency characteristics at locations in the image of overt and covert observers' decisions and find out if there are any similarities in different observers' groups: the same radiological experience group or the same accuracy scored level. Background: The radiological task is described as a visual searching decision making procedure involving visual perception and cognitive processing. Humans perceive the world through a number of spatial frequency channels, each sensitive to visual information carried by different spatial frequency ranges and orientations. Recent studies have shown that particular physical properties of local and global image-based elements are correlated with the performance and the level of experience of human observers in breast cancer and lung nodule detections. Neurological findings in visual perception were an inspiration for wavelet applications in vision research because the methodology tries to mimic the brain processing algorithms. Methods: The wavelet approach to the set of postero-anterior chest radiographs analysis has been used to characterize perceptual preferences observers with different levels of experience in the radiological task. Psychophysical methodology has been applied to track eye movements over the image, where particular ROIs related to the observers' fixation clusters has been analysed in the spaces frame by Daubechies functions. Results: Significance differences have been found between the spatial frequency characteristics at the location of different decisions.

Advances in feature selection methods for hyperspectral image processing in food industry applications: a review.

PubMed

Dai, Qiong; Cheng, Jun-Hu; Sun, Da-Wen; Zeng, Xin-An

2015-01-01

There is an increased interest in the applications of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) for assessing food quality, safety, and authenticity. HSI provides abundance of spatial and spectral information from foods by combining both spectroscopy and imaging, resulting in hundreds of contiguous wavebands for each spatial position of food samples, also known as the curse of dimensionality. It is desirable to employ feature selection algorithms for decreasing computation burden and increasing predicting accuracy, which are especially relevant in the development of online applications. Recently, a variety of feature selection algorithms have been proposed that can be categorized into three groups based on the searching strategy namely complete search, heuristic search and random search. This review mainly introduced the fundamental of each algorithm, illustrated its applications in hyperspectral data analysis in the food field, and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of these algorithms. It is hoped that this review should provide a guideline for feature selections and data processing in the future development of hyperspectral imaging technique in foods.

Quantifying Human Visible Color Variation from High Definition Digital Images of Orb Web Spiders.

PubMed

Tapia-McClung, Horacio; Ajuria Ibarra, Helena; Rao, Dinesh

2016-01-01

Digital processing and analysis of high resolution images of 30 individuals of the orb web spider Verrucosa arenata were performed to extract and quantify human visible colors present on the dorsal abdomen of this species. Color extraction was performed with minimal user intervention using an unsupervised algorithm to determine groups of colors on each individual spider, which was then analyzed in order to quantify and classify the colors obtained, both spatially and using energy and entropy measures of the digital images. Analysis shows that the colors cover a small region of the visible spectrum, are not spatially homogeneously distributed over the patterns and from an entropic point of view, colors that cover a smaller region on the whole pattern carry more information than colors covering a larger region. This study demonstrates the use of processing tools to create automatic systems to extract valuable information from digital images that are precise, efficient and helpful for the understanding of the underlying biology.

Quantifying Human Visible Color Variation from High Definition Digital Images of Orb Web Spiders

PubMed Central

Ajuria Ibarra, Helena; Rao, Dinesh

2016-01-01

Digital processing and analysis of high resolution images of 30 individuals of the orb web spider Verrucosa arenata were performed to extract and quantify human visible colors present on the dorsal abdomen of this species. Color extraction was performed with minimal user intervention using an unsupervised algorithm to determine groups of colors on each individual spider, which was then analyzed in order to quantify and classify the colors obtained, both spatially and using energy and entropy measures of the digital images. Analysis shows that the colors cover a small region of the visible spectrum, are not spatially homogeneously distributed over the patterns and from an entropic point of view, colors that cover a smaller region on the whole pattern carry more information than colors covering a larger region. This study demonstrates the use of processing tools to create automatic systems to extract valuable information from digital images that are precise, efficient and helpful for the understanding of the underlying biology. PMID:27902724

SU-E-T-65: A Prospective Trial of Open Face Masks for Head and Neck Radiotherapy

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

Wiant, D; Squire, S; Maurer, J

Purpose: Open face head and neck masks allow for active patient monitoring during treatment and may reduced claustrophobia and anxiety compared to closed masks. The ability of open masks to limit intrafraction motion and to preserve the patient shape/position from simulation over protracted treatments should be considered. Methods: Thirty-two head and neck patients were prospectively randomized to treatment in a closed mask or a novel open face mask. All patients received daily volumetric imaging. The daily images were automatically rigidly registered to the planning CT’s offline using a commercial image processing tool. The shifts needed to optimize the registration, themore » mutual information coefficient (MI), and the Pearson correlation (PC) coefficients were recorded to evaluate shape preservation. The open group was set-up and monitored with surface imaging at treatment. The real time surface imaging information was recorded to evaluate intrafraction motion. Results: Sixteen patients were included in each group. Evaluations were made over a total of 984 fractions. The mean MI and PC showed significantly higher shape preservation for the open group than for the closed group (p = 0). The mean rotations for the open group were smaller or < 0.15° larger versus the closed group. The mean intrafraction motion for the open group was 0.93 +/−0.99 mm (2 SD). The maximum single fraction displacement was 3.2 mm. Fourteen of 16 patients showed no significant correlation of motion with fraction number (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The open masks preserved shape as well as the closed masks, and they limited motion to < 2 mm for 95% of the treated fractions. These results are consistent over treatment courses of up to 35 fractions. The open mask is suitable for treatment with or without active monitoring. This work was partially supported by Qfix.« less

Revisiting Stephan's Quintet with deep optical images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duc, Pierre-Alain; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Renaud, Florent

2018-03-01

Stephan's Quintet, a compact group of galaxies, is often used as a laboratory to study a number of phenomena, including physical processes in the interstellar medium, star formation, galaxy evolution, and the formation of fossil groups. As such, it has been subject to intensive multiwavelength observation campaigns. Yet, models lack constrains to pin down the role of each galaxy in the assembly of the group. We revisit here this system with multiband deep optical images obtained with MegaCam on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), focusing on the detection of low surface brightness (LSB) structures. They reveal a number of extended LSB features, some new, and some already visible in published images but not discussed before. An extended diffuse, reddish, lopsided, halo is detected towards the early-type galaxy NGC 7317, the role of which had so far been ignored in models. The presence of this halo made of old stars may indicate that the group formed earlier than previously thought. Finally, a number of additional diffuse filaments are visible, some close to the foreground galaxy NGC 7331 located in the same field. Their structure and association with mid-infrared emission suggest contamination by emission from Galactic cirrus.

Optical Fluorescent Imaging to Monitor Temporal Effects of Microbubble-Mediated Ultrasound Therapy

PubMed Central

Sorace, Anna G.; Saini, Reshu; Rosenthal, Eben; Warram, Jason M.; Zinn, Kurt R.; Hoyt, Kenneth

2013-01-01

Microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy can noninvasively enhance drug delivery to localized regions in the body. This technique can be beneficial in cancer therapy, but currently there are limitations to tracking the therapeutic effects. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the potential of fluorescent imaging for monitoring the temporal effects of microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy. Mice were implanted with 2LMP breast cancer cells. The animals underwent microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy in the presence of Cy5.5 fluorescent-labeled IgG antibody (large molecule) or Cy5.5 dye (small molecule) and microbubble contrast agents. Control animals were administered fluorescent molecules only. Animals were transiently imaged in vivo at 1, 10, 30, and 60 min post therapy using a small animal optical imaging system. Tumors were excised and analyzed ex vivo. Tumors were homogenized and emulsion imaged for Cy5.5 fluorescence. Monitoring in vivo results showed significant influx of dye into the tumor (p < 0.05) using the small molecule, but not in the large molecule group (p > 0.05). However, after tumor emulsion, significantly higher dye concentration was detected in therapy group tumors for both small and large molecule groups in comparison to their control counterparts (p < 0.01). This paper explores a noninvasive optical imaging method for monitoring the effects of microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy in a cancer model. It provides temporal information following the process of increasing extravasation of molecules into target tumors. PMID:23357902

Optical fluorescent imaging to monitor temporal effects of microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy.

PubMed

Sorace, Anna G; Saini, Reshu; Rosenthal, Eben; Warram, Jason M; Zinn, Kurt R; Hoyt, Kenneth

2013-02-01

Microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy can noninvasively enhance drug delivery to localized regions in the body. This technique can be beneficial in cancer therapy, but currently there are limitations to tracking the therapeutic effects. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the potential of fluorescent imaging for monitoring the temporal effects of microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy. Mice were implanted with 2LMP breast cancer cells. The animals underwent microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy in the presence of Cy5.5 fluorescent-labeled IgG antibody (large molecule) or Cy5.5 dye (small molecule) and microbubble contrast agents. Control animals were administered fluorescent molecules only. Animals were transiently imaged in vivo at 1, 10, 30, and 60 min post therapy using a small animal optical imaging system. Tumors were excised and analyzed ex vivo. Tumors were homogenized and emulsion imaged for Cy5.5 fluorescence. Monitoring in vivo results showed significant influx of dye into the tumor (p < 0.05) using the small molecule, but not in the large molecule group (p > 0.05). However, after tumor emulsion, significantly higher dye concentration was detected in therapy group tumors for both small and large molecule groups in comparison to their control counterparts (p <0.01). This paper explores a noninvasive optical imaging method for monitoring the effects of microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy in a cancer model. It provides temporal information following the process of increasing extravasation of molecules into target tumors.

A sad mood increases attention to unhealthy food images in women with food addiction.

PubMed

Frayn, Mallory; Sears, Christopher R; von Ranson, Kristin M

2016-05-01

Food addiction and emotional eating both influence eating and weight, but little is known of how negative mood affects the attentional processes that may contribute to food addiction. The purpose of this study was to compare attention to food images in adult women (N = 66) with versus without food addiction, before and after a sad mood induction (MI). Participants' eye fixations were tracked and recorded throughout 8-s presentations of displays with healthy food, unhealthy food, and non-food images. Food addiction was self-reported using the Yale Food Addiction Scale. The sad MI involved watching an 8-min video about a young child who passed away from cancer. It was predicted that: (1) participants in the food addiction group would attend to unhealthy food significantly more than participants in the control group, and (2) participants in the food addiction group would increase their attention to unhealthy food images following the sad MI, due to increased emotional reactivity and poorer emotional regulation. As predicted, the sad MI had a different effect for those with versus without food addiction: for participants with food addiction, attention to unhealthy images increased following the sad MI and attention to healthy images decreased, whereas for participants without food addiction the sad MI did not alter attention to food. These findings contribute to researchers' understanding of the cognitive factors underlying food addiction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The imaging 3.0 informatics scorecard.

PubMed

Kohli, Marc; Dreyer, Keith J; Geis, J Raymond

2015-04-01

Imaging 3.0 is a radiology community initiative to empower radiologists to create and demonstrate value for their patients, referring physicians, and health systems. In image-guided health care, radiologists contribute to the entire health care process, well before and after the actual examination, and out to the point at which they guide clinical decisions and affect patient outcome. Because imaging is so pervasive, radiologists who adopt Imaging 3.0 concepts in their practice can help their health care systems provide consistently high-quality care at reduced cost. By doing this, radiologists become more valuable in the new health care setting. The authors describe how informatics is critical to embracing Imaging 3.0 and present a scorecard that can be used to gauge a radiology group's informatics resources and capabilities. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Software for hyperspectral, joint photographic experts group (.JPG), portable network graphics (.PNG) and tagged image file format (.TIFF) segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruno, L. S.; Rodrigo, B. P.; Lucio, A. de C. Jorge

2016-10-01

This paper presents a system developed by an application of a neural network Multilayer Perceptron for drone acquired agricultural image segmentation. This application allows a supervised user training the classes that will posteriorly be interpreted by neural network. These classes will be generated manually with pre-selected attributes in the application. After the attribute selection a segmentation process is made to allow the relevant information extraction for different types of images, RGB or Hyperspectral. The application allows extracting the geographical coordinates from the image metadata, geo referencing all pixels on the image. In spite of excessive memory consume on hyperspectral images regions of interest, is possible to perform segmentation, using bands chosen by user that can be combined in different ways to obtain different results.

A method to perform a fast fourier transform with primitive image transformations.

PubMed

Sheridan, Phil

2007-05-01

The Fourier transform is one of the most important transformations in image processing. A major component of this influence comes from the ability to implement it efficiently on a digital computer. This paper describes a new methodology to perform a fast Fourier transform (FFT). This methodology emerges from considerations of the natural physical constraints imposed by image capture devices (camera/eye). The novel aspects of the specific FFT method described include: 1) a bit-wise reversal re-grouping operation of the conventional FFT is replaced by the use of lossless image rotation and scaling and 2) the usual arithmetic operations of complex multiplication are replaced with integer addition. The significance of the FFT presented in this paper is introduced by extending a discrete and finite image algebra, named Spiral Honeycomb Image Algebra (SHIA), to a continuous version, named SHIAC.

Iterative Stable Alignment and Clustering of 2D Transmission Electron Microscope Images

PubMed Central

Yang, Zhengfan; Fang, Jia; Chittuluru, Johnathan; Asturias, Francisco J.; Penczek, Pawel A.

2012-01-01

SUMMARY Identification of homogeneous subsets of images in a macromolecular electron microscopy (EM) image data set is a critical step in single-particle analysis. The task is handled by iterative algorithms, whose performance is compromised by the compounded limitations of image alignment and K-means clustering. Here we describe an approach, iterative stable alignment and clustering (ISAC) that, relying on a new clustering method and on the concepts of stability and reproducibility, can extract validated, homogeneous subsets of images. ISAC requires only a small number of simple parameters and, with minimal human intervention, can eliminate bias from two-dimensional image clustering and maximize the quality of group averages that can be used for ab initio three-dimensional structural determination and analysis of macromolecular conformational variability. Repeated testing of the stability and reproducibility of a solution within ISAC eliminates heterogeneous or incorrect classes and introduces critical validation to the process of EM image clustering. PMID:22325773

An Improved Method for Measuring Quantitative Resistance to the Wheat Pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici Using High-Throughput Automated Image Analysis.

PubMed

Stewart, Ethan L; Hagerty, Christina H; Mikaberidze, Alexey; Mundt, Christopher C; Zhong, Ziming; McDonald, Bruce A

2016-07-01

Zymoseptoria tritici causes Septoria tritici blotch (STB) on wheat. An improved method of quantifying STB symptoms was developed based on automated analysis of diseased leaf images made using a flatbed scanner. Naturally infected leaves (n = 949) sampled from fungicide-treated field plots comprising 39 wheat cultivars grown in Switzerland and 9 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) grown in Oregon were included in these analyses. Measures of quantitative resistance were percent leaf area covered by lesions, pycnidia size and gray value, and pycnidia density per leaf and lesion. These measures were obtained automatically with a batch-processing macro utilizing the image-processing software ImageJ. All phenotypes in both locations showed a continuous distribution, as expected for a quantitative trait. The trait distributions at both sites were largely overlapping even though the field and host environments were quite different. Cultivars and RILs could be assigned to two or more statistically different groups for each measured phenotype. Traditional visual assessments of field resistance were highly correlated with quantitative resistance measures based on image analysis for the Oregon RILs. These results show that automated image analysis provides a promising tool for assessing quantitative resistance to Z. tritici under field conditions.

Manufacturing process applications team (MATeam)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bangs, E. R.

1980-01-01

The objectives and activities of an aerospace technology transfer group are outlined and programs in various stages of progress are described including the orbital tube flaring device, infrared proximity sensor for robot positioning, laser stripping magnet wire, infrared imaging as welding process tracking system, carbide coating of cutting tools, nondestructive fracture toughness testing of titanium welds, portable solar system for agricultural applications, and an anerobic methane gas generator.

A Stochastic Kinematic Model of Class Averaging in Single-Particle Electron Microscopy

PubMed Central

Park, Wooram; Midgett, Charles R.; Madden, Dean R.; Chirikjian, Gregory S.

2011-01-01

Single-particle electron microscopy is an experimental technique that is used to determine the 3D structure of biological macromolecules and the complexes that they form. In general, image processing techniques and reconstruction algorithms are applied to micrographs, which are two-dimensional (2D) images taken by electron microscopes. Each of these planar images can be thought of as a projection of the macromolecular structure of interest from an a priori unknown direction. A class is defined as a collection of projection images with a high degree of similarity, presumably resulting from taking projections along similar directions. In practice, micrographs are very noisy and those in each class are aligned and averaged in order to reduce the background noise. Errors in the alignment process are inevitable due to noise in the electron micrographs. This error results in blurry averaged images. In this paper, we investigate how blurring parameters are related to the properties of the background noise in the case when the alignment is achieved by matching the mass centers and the principal axes of the experimental images. We observe that the background noise in micrographs can be treated as Gaussian. Using the mean and variance of the background Gaussian noise, we derive equations for the mean and variance of translational and rotational misalignments in the class averaging process. This defines a Gaussian probability density on the Euclidean motion group of the plane. Our formulation is validated by convolving the derived blurring function representing the stochasticity of the image alignments with the underlying noiseless projection and comparing with the original blurry image. PMID:21660125

Detection and 3D reconstruction of traffic signs from multiple view color images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soheilian, Bahman; Paparoditis, Nicolas; Vallet, Bruno

2013-03-01

3D reconstruction of traffic signs is of great interest in many applications such as image-based localization and navigation. In order to reflect the reality, the reconstruction process should meet both accuracy and precision. In order to reach such a valid reconstruction from calibrated multi-view images, accurate and precise extraction of signs in every individual view is a must. This paper presents first an automatic pipeline for identifying and extracting the silhouette of signs in every individual image. Then, a multi-view constrained 3D reconstruction algorithm provides an optimum 3D silhouette for the detected signs. The first step called detection, tackles with a color-based segmentation to generate ROIs (Region of Interests) in image. The shape of every ROI is estimated by fitting an ellipse, a quadrilateral or a triangle to edge points. A ROI is rejected if none of the three shapes can be fitted sufficiently precisely. Thanks to the estimated shape the remained candidates ROIs are rectified to remove the perspective distortion and then matched with a set of reference signs using textural information. Poor matches are rejected and the types of remained ones are identified. The output of the detection algorithm is a set of identified road signs whose silhouette in image plane is represented by and ellipse, a quadrilateral or a triangle. The 3D reconstruction process is based on a hypothesis generation and verification. Hypotheses are generated by a stereo matching approach taking into account epipolar geometry and also the similarity of the categories. The hypotheses that are plausibly correspond to the same 3D road sign are identified and grouped during this process. Finally, all the hypotheses of the same group are merged to generate a unique 3D road sign by a multi-view algorithm integrating a priori knowledges about 3D shape of road signs as constraints. The algorithm is assessed on real and synthetic images and reached and average accuracy of 3.5cm for position and 4.5° for orientation.

Analysis of Morphological Features of Benign and Malignant Breast Cell Extracted From FNAC Microscopic Image Using the Pearsonian System of Curves.

PubMed

Rajbongshi, Nijara; Bora, Kangkana; Nath, Dilip C; Das, Anup K; Mahanta, Lipi B

2018-01-01

Cytological changes in terms of shape and size of nuclei are some of the common morphometric features to study breast cancer, which can be observed by careful screening of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) images. This study attempts to categorize a collection of FNAC microscopic images into benign and malignant classes based on family of probability distribution using some morphometric features of cell nuclei. For this study, features namely area, perimeter, eccentricity, compactness, and circularity of cell nuclei were extracted from FNAC images of both benign and malignant samples using an image processing technique. All experiments were performed on a generated FNAC image database containing 564 malignant (cancerous) and 693 benign (noncancerous) cell level images. The five-set extracted features were reduced to three-set (area, perimeter, and circularity) based on the mean statistic. Finally, the data were fitted to the generalized Pearsonian system of frequency curve, so that the resulting distribution can be used as a statistical model. Pearsonian system is a family of distributions where kappa (κ) is the selection criteria computed as functions of the first four central moments. For the benign group, kappa (κ) corresponding to area, perimeter, and circularity was -0.00004, 0.0000, and 0.04155 and for malignant group it was 1016942, 0.01464, and -0.3213, respectively. Thus, the family of distribution related to these features for the benign and malignant group were different, and therefore, characterization of their probability curve will also be different.

Higher-order cognitive training effects on processing speed-related neural activity: a randomized trial.

PubMed

Motes, Michael A; Yezhuvath, Uma S; Aslan, Sina; Spence, Jeffrey S; Rypma, Bart; Chapman, Sandra B

2018-02-01

Higher-order cognitive training has shown to enhance performance in older adults, but the neural mechanisms underlying performance enhancement have yet to be fully disambiguated. This randomized trial examined changes in processing speed and processing speed-related neural activity in older participants (57-71 years of age) who underwent cognitive training (CT, N = 12) compared with wait-listed (WLC, N = 15) or exercise-training active (AC, N = 14) controls. The cognitive training taught cognitive control functions of strategic attention, integrative reasoning, and innovation over 12 weeks. All 3 groups worked through a functional magnetic resonance imaging processing speed task during 3 sessions (baseline, mid-training, and post-training). Although all groups showed faster reaction times (RTs) across sessions, the CT group showed a significant increase, and the WLC and AC groups showed significant decreases across sessions in the association between RT and BOLD signal change within the left prefrontal cortex (PFC). Thus, cognitive training led to a change in processing speed-related neural activity where faster processing speed was associated with reduced PFC activation, fitting previously identified neural efficiency profiles. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of heat sink on the recurrence of small malignant hepatic tumors after radiofrequency ablation.

PubMed

Lin, Zheng-Yu; Li, Guo-Lin; Chen, Jin; Chen, Zhong-Wu; Chen, Yi-Ping; Lin, Sun-Zhi

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of heat sink on the recurrence of hepatic malignant tumors <3 cm after percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA). This study included 564 hepatic malignant tumors <3 cm in 381 patients. Preoperative images were used to determine whether these tumors were adjacent to vessels, and the diameter of adjacent vessels was measured. RFA was performed computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) guidance, and postoperative imaging follow-up was then conducted. SPSS software version 17.0 was used for data processing, and the χ2 test was used for comparative analysis. Two-sided P < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. A total of 33 recurrences were found: 15 in the MR group (15/468), 12 in the US group (12/53), and 6 in the CT group (6/43). Of the 101 lesions adjacent to blood vessels larger than 3 mm, 20 showed recurrence: 10 in the MR group (10/77), 7 in the US group (7/17), and 3 in the CT group (3/7). The recurrence rate of perivascular lesions was higher than that of nonperivascular lesions, and the rate in the MR group was lower those in the US and CT groups. The curative effect of MRI-guided RFA is better than those of US- and CT-guided ablation. The heat sink effect is an important factor affecting recurrence of hepatic malignant tumors after RFA.

Pattern centric design based sensitive patterns and process monitor in manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsiang, Chingyun; Cheng, Guojie; Wu, Kechih

2017-03-01

When design rule is mitigating to smaller dimension, process variation requirement is tighter than ever and challenges the limits of device yield. Masks, lithography, etching and other processes have to meet very tight specifications in order to keep defect and CD within the margins of the process window. Conventionally, Inspection and metrology equipments are utilized to monitor and control wafer quality in-line. In high throughput optical inspection, nuisance and review-classification become a tedious labor intensive job in manufacturing. Certain high-resolution SEM images are taken to validate defects after optical inspection. These high resolution SEM images catch not only optical inspection highlighted point, also its surrounding patterns. However, this pattern information is not well utilized in conventional quality control method. Using this complementary design based pattern monitor not only monitors and analyzes the variation of patterns sensitivity but also reduce nuisance and highlight defective patterns or killer defects. After grouping in either single or multiple layers, systematic defects can be identified quickly in this flow. In this paper, we applied design based pattern monitor in different layers to monitor process variation impacts on all kinds of patterns. First, the contour of high resolutions SEM image is extracted and aligned to design with offset adjustment and fine alignment [1]. Second, specified pattern rules can be applied on design clip area, the same size as SEM image, and form POI (pattern of interest) areas. Third, the discrepancy of contour and design measurement at different pattern types in measurement blocks. Fourth, defective patterns are reported by discrepancy detection criteria and pattern grouping [4]. Meanwhile, reported pattern defects are ranked by number and severity by discrepancy. In this step, process sensitive high repeatable systematic defects can be identified quickly Through this design based process pattern monitor method, most of optical inspection nuisances can be filtered out at contour to design discrepancy measurement. Daily analysis results are stored at database as reference to compare with incoming data. Defective pattern library contains existing and known systematic defect patterns which help to catch and identify new pattern defects or process impacts. On the other hand, this defect pattern library provides extra valuable information for mask, pattern and defects verification, inspection care area generation, further OPC fix and process enhancement and investigation.

A summary of image segmentation techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spirkovska, Lilly

1993-01-01

Machine vision systems are often considered to be composed of two subsystems: low-level vision and high-level vision. Low level vision consists primarily of image processing operations performed on the input image to produce another image with more favorable characteristics. These operations may yield images with reduced noise or cause certain features of the image to be emphasized (such as edges). High-level vision includes object recognition and, at the highest level, scene interpretation. The bridge between these two subsystems is the segmentation system. Through segmentation, the enhanced input image is mapped into a description involving regions with common features which can be used by the higher level vision tasks. There is no theory on image segmentation. Instead, image segmentation techniques are basically ad hoc and differ mostly in the way they emphasize one or more of the desired properties of an ideal segmenter and in the way they balance and compromise one desired property against another. These techniques can be categorized in a number of different groups including local vs. global, parallel vs. sequential, contextual vs. noncontextual, interactive vs. automatic. In this paper, we categorize the schemes into three main groups: pixel-based, edge-based, and region-based. Pixel-based segmentation schemes classify pixels based solely on their gray levels. Edge-based schemes first detect local discontinuities (edges) and then use that information to separate the image into regions. Finally, region-based schemes start with a seed pixel (or group of pixels) and then grow or split the seed until the original image is composed of only homogeneous regions. Because there are a number of survey papers available, we will not discuss all segmentation schemes. Rather than a survey, we take the approach of a detailed overview. We focus only on the more common approaches in order to give the reader a flavor for the variety of techniques available yet present enough details to facilitate implementation and experimentation.

Clinical outcomes of pediatric patients with acute abdominal pain and incidental findings of free intraperitoneal fluid on diagnostic imaging.

PubMed

Matz, Samantha; Connell, Mary; Sinha, Madhumita; Goettl, Christopher S; Patel, Palak C; Drachman, David

2013-09-01

The presence of free intraperitoneal fluid on diagnostic imaging (sonography or computed tomography [CT]) may indicate an acute inflammatory process in children with abdominal pain in a nontraumatic setting. Although clinical outcomes of pediatric trauma patients with free fluid on diagnostic examinations without evidence of solid-organ injury have been studied, similar studies in the absence of trauma are rare. Our objective was to study clinical outcomes of children with acute abdominal pain of nontraumatic etiology and free intraperitoneal fluid on diagnostic imaging (abdominal/pelvic sonography, CT, or both). We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of children aged 0 to 18 years presenting to a pediatric emergency department with acute abdominal pain (nontraumatic) between April 2008 and March 2009. Patients with intraperitoneal free fluid on imaging were divided into 2 groups: group I, imaging suggestive of an intra-abdominal surgical condition such as appendicitis; and group II, no evidence of an acute surgical condition on imaging, including patients with equivocal studies. Computed tomograms and sonograms were reviewed by a board-certified radiologist, and the free fluid volume was quantitated. Of 1613 patients who underwent diagnostic imaging, 407 were eligible for the study; 134 (33%) had free fluid detected on diagnostic imaging. In patients with both sonography and CT, there was a significant correlation in the free fluid volume (r = 0.79; P < .0005). A significantly greater number of male patients with free fluid had a surgical condition identified on imaging (57.4% versus 25%; P < .001). Children with free fluid and an associated condition on imaging were more likely to have surgery (94.4% versus 6.3%; P < .001). We found clinical outcomes (surgical versus nonsurgical) to be most correlated with a surgical diagnosis on diagnostic imaging and not with the amount of fluid present.

A Simplified Approach to Encephalitis and Its Mimics: Key Clinical Decision Points in the Setting of Specific Imaging Abnormalities.

PubMed

McKnight, Colin D; Kelly, Aine M; Petrou, Myria; Nidecker, Anna E; Lorincz, Matthew T; Altaee, Duaa K; Gebarski, Stephen S; Foerster, Bradley

2017-06-01

Infectious encephalitis is a relatively common cause of morbidity and mortality. Treatment of infectious encephalitis with antiviral medication can be highly effective when administered promptly. Clinical mimics of encephalitis arise from a broad range of pathologic processes, including toxic, metabolic, neoplastic, autoimmune, and cardiovascular etiologies. These mimics need to be rapidly differentiated from infectious encephalitis to appropriately manage the correct etiology; however, the many overlapping signs of these various entities present a challenge to accurate diagnosis. A systematic approach that considers both the clinical manifestations and the imaging findings of infectious encephalitis and its mimics can contribute to more accurate and timely diagnosis. Following an institutional review board approval, a health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA)-compliant search of our institutional imaging database (teaching files) was conducted to generate a list of adult and pediatric patients who presented between January 1, 1995 and October 10, 2013 for imaging to evaluate possible cases of encephalitis. Pertinent medical records, including clinical notes as well as surgical and pathology reports, were reviewed and correlated with imaging findings. Clinical and imaging findings were combined to generate useful flowcharts designed to assist in distinguishing infectious encephalitis from its mimics. Key imaging features were reviewed and were placed in the context of the provided flowcharts. Four flowcharts were presented based on the primary anatomic site of imaging abnormality: group 1: temporal lobe; group 2: cerebral cortex; group 3: deep gray matter; and group 4: white matter. An approach that combines features on clinical presentation was then detailed. Imaging examples were used to demonstrate similarities and key differences. Early recognition of infectious encephalitis is critical, but can be quite complex due to diverse pathologies and overlapping features. Synthesis of both the clinical and imaging features of infectious encephalitis and its mimics is critical to a timely and accurate diagnosis. The use of the flowcharts presented in this article can further enable both clinicians and radiologists to more confidently differentiate encephalitis from its mimics and improve patient care. Copyright © 2017 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A MULTICORE BASED PARALLEL IMAGE REGISTRATION METHOD

PubMed Central

Yang, Lin; Gong, Leiguang; Zhang, Hong; Nosher, John L.; Foran, David J.

2012-01-01

Image registration is a crucial step for many image-assisted clinical applications such as surgery planning and treatment evaluation. In this paper we proposed a landmark based nonlinear image registration algorithm for matching 2D image pairs. The algorithm was shown to be effective and robust under conditions of large deformations. In landmark based registration, the most important step is establishing the correspondence among the selected landmark points. This usually requires an extensive search which is often computationally expensive. We introduced a nonregular data partition algorithm using the K-means clustering algorithm to group the landmarks based on the number of available processing cores. The step optimizes the memory usage and data transfer. We have tested our method using IBM Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.) platform. PMID:19964921

Building an exceptional imaging management team: from theory to practice.

PubMed

Hogan, Laurie

2010-01-01

Building a strong, cohesive, and talented managerial team is a critical endeavor for imaging administrators, as the job will be enhanced if supported by a group of high-performing, well-developed managers. For the purposes of this article, leadership and management are discussed as two separate, yet equally important, components of an imaging administrator's role. The difference between the two is defined as: leadership relates to people, management relates to process. There are abundant leadership and management theories that can help imaging administrators develop managers and ultimately build a better team. Administrators who apply these theories in practical and meaningful ways will improve their teams' leadership and management aptitude. Imaging administrators will find it rewarding to coach and develop managers and witness transformations that result from improved leadership and management abilities.

Reduced exposure using asymmetric cone beam processing for wide area detector cardiac CT

PubMed Central

Bedayat, Arash; Kumamaru, Kanako; Powers, Sara L.; Signorelli, Jason; Steigner, Michael L.; Steveson, Chloe; Soga, Shigeyoshi; Adams, Kimberly; Mitsouras, Dimitrios; Clouse, Melvin; Mather, Richard T.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to estimate dose reduction after implementation of asymmetrical cone beam processing using exposure differences measured in a water phantom and a small cohort of clinical coronary CTA patients. Two separate 320 × 0.5 mm detector row scans of a water phantom used identical cardiac acquisition parameters before and after software modifications from symmetric to asymmetric cone beam acquisition and processing. Exposure was measured at the phantom surface with Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dosimeters at 12 equally spaced angular locations. Mean HU and standard deviation (SD) for both approaches were compared using ROI measurements obtained at the center plus four peripheral locations in the water phantom. To assess image quality, mean HU and standard deviation (SD) for both approaches were compared using ROI measurements obtained at five points within the water phantom. Retrospective evaluation of 64 patients (37 symmetric; 27 asymmetric acquisition) included clinical data, scanning parameters, quantitative plus qualitative image assessment, and estimated radiation dose. In the water phantom, the asymmetric cone beam processing reduces exposure by approximately 20% with no change in image quality. The clinical coronary CTA patient groups had comparable demographics. The estimated dose reduction after implementation of the asymmetric approach was roughly 24% with no significant difference between the symmetric and asymmetric approach with respect to objective measures of image quality or subjective assessment using a four point scale. When compared to a symmetric approach, the decreased exposure, subsequent lower patient radiation dose, and similar image quality from asymmetric cone beam processing supports its routine clinical use. PMID:21336552

Reduced exposure using asymmetric cone beam processing for wide area detector cardiac CT.

PubMed

Bedayat, Arash; Rybicki, Frank J; Kumamaru, Kanako; Powers, Sara L; Signorelli, Jason; Steigner, Michael L; Steveson, Chloe; Soga, Shigeyoshi; Adams, Kimberly; Mitsouras, Dimitrios; Clouse, Melvin; Mather, Richard T

2012-02-01

The purpose of this study was to estimate dose reduction after implementation of asymmetrical cone beam processing using exposure differences measured in a water phantom and a small cohort of clinical coronary CTA patients. Two separate 320 × 0.5 mm detector row scans of a water phantom used identical cardiac acquisition parameters before and after software modifications from symmetric to asymmetric cone beam acquisition and processing. Exposure was measured at the phantom surface with Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dosimeters at 12 equally spaced angular locations. Mean HU and standard deviation (SD) for both approaches were compared using ROI measurements obtained at the center plus four peripheral locations in the water phantom. To assess image quality, mean HU and standard deviation (SD) for both approaches were compared using ROI measurements obtained at five points within the water phantom. Retrospective evaluation of 64 patients (37 symmetric; 27 asymmetric acquisition) included clinical data, scanning parameters, quantitative plus qualitative image assessment, and estimated radiation dose. In the water phantom, the asymmetric cone beam processing reduces exposure by approximately 20% with no change in image quality. The clinical coronary CTA patient groups had comparable demographics. The estimated dose reduction after implementation of the asymmetric approach was roughly 24% with no significant difference between the symmetric and asymmetric approach with respect to objective measures of image quality or subjective assessment using a four point scale. When compared to a symmetric approach, the decreased exposure, subsequent lower patient radiation dose, and similar image quality from asymmetric cone beam processing supports its routine clinical use.

Attentional and physiological processing of food images in functional dyspepsia patients: A pilot study.

PubMed

Lee, In-Seon; Preissl, Hubert; Giel, Katrin; Schag, Kathrin; Enck, Paul

2018-01-23

The food-related behavior of functional dyspepsia has been attracting more interest of late. This pilot study aims to provide evidence of the physiological, emotional, and attentional aspects of food processing in functional dyspepsia patients. The study was performed in 15 functional dyspepsia patients and 17 healthy controls after a standard breakfast. We measured autonomic nervous system activity using skin conductance response and heart rate variability, emotional response using facial electromyography, and visual attention using eyetracking during the visual stimuli of food/non-food images. In comparison to healthy controls, functional dyspepsia patients showed a greater craving for food, a decreased intake of food, more dyspeptic symptoms, lower pleasantness rating of food images (particularly of high fat), decreased low frequency/high frequency ratio of heart rate variability, and suppressed total processing time of food images. There were no significant differences of skin conductance response and facial electromyography data between groups. The results suggest that high level cognitive functions rather than autonomic and emotional mechanisms are more liable to function differently in functional dyspepsia patients. Abnormal dietary behavior, reduced subjective rating of pleasantness and visual attention to food should be considered as important pathophysiological characteristics in functional dyspepsia.

Deciding on race: a diffusion model analysis of race-categorisation.

PubMed

Benton, Christopher P; Skinner, Andrew L

2015-06-01

It has long been known that a person's race can affect their decisions about people of another race; an observation that clearly taps into some deep societal issues. However, in order to behave differently in response to someone else's race, you must first categorise that person as other-race. The current study investigates the process of race-categorisation. Two groups of participants, Asian and Caucasian, rapidly classified facial images that varied from strongly Asian, through racially intermediate, to strongly Caucasian. In agreement with previous findings, there was a difference in category boundary between the two groups. Asian participants more frequently judged intermediate images as Caucasian and vice versa. We fitted a decision model, the Ratcliff diffusion model, to our two choice reaction time data. This model provides an account of the processes thought to underlie binary choice decisions. Within its architecture it has two components that could reasonably lead to a difference in race category boundary, these being evidence accumulation rate and a priori bias. The latter is the expectation or prior belief that a participant brings to the task, whilst the former indexes sensitivity to race-dependent perceptual cues. Whilst we find no good evidence for a difference in a priori bias between our two groups, we do find evidence for a difference in evidence accumulation rate. Our Asian participants were more sensitive to Caucasian cues within the images than were our Caucasian participants (and vice versa). These results support the idea that differences in perceptual sensitivity to race-defining visual characteristics drive differences in race categorisation. We propose that our findings fit with a wider view in which perceptual adaptation plays a central role in the visual processing of own and other race. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-07-01

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

Anterior cingulate hyperactivations during negative emotion processing among men with schizophrenia and a history of violent behavior

PubMed Central

Tikàsz, Andràs; Potvin, Stéphane; Lungu, Ovidiu; Joyal, Christian C; Hodgins, Sheilagh; Mendrek, Adrianna; Dumais, Alexandre

2016-01-01

Background Evidence suggests a 2.1–4.6 times increase in the risk of violent behavior in schizophrenia compared to the general population. Current theories propose that the processing of negative emotions is defective in violent individuals and that dysfunctions within the neural circuits involved in emotion processing are implicated in violence. Although schizophrenia patients show enhanced sensitivity to negative stimuli, there are only few functional neuroimaging studies that have examined emotion processing among men with schizophrenia and a history of violence. Objective The present study aimed to identify the brain regions with greater neurofunctional alterations, as detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging during an emotion processing task, of men with schizophrenia who had engaged in violent behavior compared with those who had not. Methods Sixty men were studied; 20 with schizophrenia and a history of violence, 19 with schizophrenia and no violence, and 21 healthy men were scanned while viewing positive, negative, and neutral images. Results Negative images elicited hyperactivations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), left and right lingual gyrus, and the left precentral gyrus in violent men with schizophrenia, compared to nonviolent men with schizophrenia and healthy men. Neutral images elicited hyperactivations in the right and left middle occipital gyrus, left lingual gyrus, and the left fusiform gyrus in violent men with schizophrenia, compared to the other two groups. Discussion Violent men with schizophrenia displayed specific increases in ACC in response to negative images. Given the role of the ACC in information integration, these results indicate a specific dysfunction in the processing of negative emotions that may trigger violent behavior in men with schizophrenia. PMID:27366072

ASAP (Automatic Software for ASL Processing): A toolbox for processing Arterial Spin Labeling images.

PubMed

Mato Abad, Virginia; García-Polo, Pablo; O'Daly, Owen; Hernández-Tamames, Juan Antonio; Zelaya, Fernando

2016-04-01

The method of Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) has experienced a significant rise in its application to functional imaging, since it is the only technique capable of measuring blood perfusion in a truly non-invasive manner. Currently, there are no commercial packages for processing ASL data and there is no recognized standard for normalizing ASL data to a common frame of reference. This work describes a new Automated Software for ASL Processing (ASAP) that can automatically process several ASL datasets. ASAP includes functions for all stages of image pre-processing: quantification, skull-stripping, co-registration, partial volume correction and normalization. To assess the applicability and validity of the toolbox, this work shows its application in the study of hypoperfusion in a sample of healthy subjects at risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease. ASAP requires limited user intervention, minimizing the possibility of random and systematic errors, and produces cerebral blood flow maps that are ready for statistical group analysis. The software is easy to operate and results in excellent quality of spatial normalization. The results found in this evaluation study are consistent with previous studies that find decreased perfusion in Alzheimer's patients in similar regions and demonstrate the applicability of ASAP. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neuroimaging Feature Terminology: A Controlled Terminology for the Annotation of Brain Imaging Features

PubMed Central

Iyappan, Anandhi; Younesi, Erfan; Redolfi, Alberto; Vrooman, Henri; Khanna, Shashank; Frisoni, Giovanni B.; Hofmann-Apitius, Martin

2017-01-01

Ontologies and terminologies are used for interoperability of knowledge and data in a standard manner among interdisciplinary research groups. Existing imaging ontologies capture general aspects of the imaging domain as a whole such as methodological concepts or calibrations of imaging instruments. However, none of the existing ontologies covers the diagnostic features measured by imaging technologies in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the Neuro-Imaging Feature Terminology (NIFT) was developed to organize the knowledge domain of measured brain features in association with neurodegenerative diseases by imaging technologies. The purpose is to identify quantitative imaging biomarkers that can be extracted from multi-modal brain imaging data. This terminology attempts to cover measured features and parameters in brain scans relevant to disease progression. In this paper, we demonstrate the systematic retrieval of measured indices from literature and how the extracted knowledge can be further used for disease modeling that integrates neuroimaging features with molecular processes. PMID:28731430

Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Relation to Cognitive and Functional Outcome of Traumatic Brain Injury in Children

PubMed Central

Levin, Harvey S.; Wilde, Elisabeth A.; Chu, Zili; Yallampalli, Ragini; Hanten, Gerri R.; Li, Xiaoqi; Chia, Jon; Vasquez, Carmen; Hunter, Jill V.

2008-01-01

Objective To investigate the relation of white matter integrity using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to cognitive and functional outcome of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children. Design Prospective observational study of children who had sustained moderate to severe TBI and a comparison group of children who had sustained orthopedic injury (OI). Participants Thirty-two children who had sustained moderate to severe TBI and 36 children with OI were studied. Methods Fiber tracking analysis of DTI acquired at 3-month postinjury and assessment of global outcome and cognitive function within 2 weeks of brain imaging. Global outcome was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale and the Flanker task was used to measure cognitive processing speed and resistance to interference. Results Fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient values differentiated the groups and both cognitive and functional outcome measures were related to the DTI findings. Dissociations were present wherein the relation of Fractional anisotropy to cognitive performance differed between the TBI and OI groups. A DTI composite measure of white matter integrity was related to global outcome in the children with TBI. Conclusions DTI is sensitive to white matter injury at 3 months following moderate to severe TBI in children, including brain regions that appear normal on conventional magnetic resonance imaging. DTI measures reflecting diffusion of water parallel and perpendicular to white matter tracts as calculated by fiber tracking analysis are related to global outcome, cognitive processing speed, and speed of resolving interference in children with moderate to severe TBI. Longitudinal data are needed to determine whether these relations between DTI and neurobehavioral outcome of TBI in children persist at longer follow-up intervals. PMID:18650764

Characterization of Noise Signatures of Involuntary Head Motion in the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange Repository

PubMed Central

Caballero, Carla; Mistry, Sejal; Vero, Joe; Torres, Elizabeth B

2018-01-01

The variability inherently present in biophysical data is partly contributed by disparate sampling resolutions across instrumentations. This poses a potential problem for statistical inference using pooled data in open access repositories. Such repositories combine data collected from multiple research sites using variable sampling resolutions. One example is the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange repository containing thousands of imaging and demographic records from participants in the spectrum of autism and age-matched neurotypical controls. Further, statistical analyses of groups from different diagnoses and demographics may be challenging, owing to the disparate number of participants across different clinical subgroups. In this paper, we examine the noise signatures of head motion data extracted from resting state fMRI data harnessed under different sampling resolutions. We characterize the quality of the noise in the variability of the raw linear and angular speeds for different clinical phenotypes in relation to age-matched controls. Further, we use bootstrapping methods to ensure compatible group sizes for statistical comparison and report the ranges of physical involuntary head excursions of these groups. We conclude that different sampling rates do affect the quality of noise in the variability of head motion data and, consequently, the type of random process appropriate to characterize the time series data. Further, given a qualitative range of noise, from pink to brown noise, it is possible to characterize different clinical subtypes and distinguish them in relation to ranges of neurotypical controls. These results may be of relevance to the pre-processing stages of the pipeline of analyses of resting state fMRI data, whereby head motion enters the criteria to clean imaging data from motion artifacts. PMID:29556179

Electronic workflow for imaging in clinical research.

PubMed

Hedges, Rebecca A; Goodman, Danielle; Sachs, Peter B

2014-08-01

In the transition from paper to electronic workflow, the University of Colorado Health System's implementation of a new electronic health record system (EHR) forced all clinical groups to reevaluate their practices including the infrastructure surrounding clinical trials. Radiological imaging is an important piece of many clinical trials and requires a high level of consistency and standardization. With EHR implementation, paper orders were manually transcribed into the EHR, digitizing an inefficient work flow. A team of schedulers, radiologists, technologists, research personnel, and EHR analysts worked together to optimize the EHR to accommodate the needs of research imaging protocols. The transition to electronic workflow posed several problems: (1) there needed to be effective communication throughout the imaging process from scheduling to radiologist interpretation. (2) The exam ordering process needed to be automated to allow scheduling of specific research studies on specific equipment. (3) The billing process needed to be controlled to accommodate radiologists already supported by grants. (4) There needed to be functionality allowing exams to finalize automatically skipping the PACS and interpretation process. (5) There needed to be a way to alert radiologists that a specialized research interpretation was needed on a given exam. These issues were resolved through the optimization of the "visit type," allowing a high-level control of an exam at the time of scheduling. Additionally, we added columns and fields to work queues displaying grant identification numbers. The build solutions we implemented reduced the mistakes made and increased imaging quality and compliance.

Distinct neural processes are engaged in the modulation of mimicry by social group-membership and emotional expressions.

PubMed

Rauchbauer, Birgit; Majdandžić, Jasminka; Hummer, Allan; Windischberger, Christian; Lamm, Claus

2015-09-01

People often spontaneously engage in copying each other's postures and mannerisms, a phenomenon referred to as behavioral mimicry. Social psychology experiments indicate that mimicry denotes an implicit affiliative signal flexibly regulated in response to social requirements. Yet, the mediating processes and neural underpinnings of such regulation are largely unexplored. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined mimicry regulation by combining an automatic imitation task with facial stimuli, varied on two social-affective dimensions: emotional expression (angry vs happy) and ethnic group membership (in- vs out-group). Behavioral data revealed increased mimicry when happy and when out-group faces were shown. Imaging results revealed that mimicry regulation in response to happy faces was associated with increased activation in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), right dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), and right superior parietal lobule (SPL). Mimicry regulation in response to out-group faces was related to increased activation in the left ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), bilateral anterior insula, and mid-cingulate cortex (MCC). We suggest that mimicry in response to happy and to out-group faces is driven by distinct affiliative goals, and that mimicry regulation to attain these goals is mediated by distinct neuro-cognitive processes. Higher mimicry in response to happy faces seems to denote reciprocation of an affiliative signal. Higher mimicry in response to out-group faces, reflects an appeasement attempt towards an interaction partner perceived as threatening (an interpretation supported by implicit measures showing that out-group members are more strongly associated with threat). Our findings show that subtle social cues can result in the implicit regulation of mimicry. This regulation serves to achieve distinct affiliative goals, is mediated by different regulatory processes, and relies on distinct parts of an overarching network of task-related brain areas. Our findings shed new light on the neural mechanisms underlying the interplay between implicit action control and social cognition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of compressed breast thickness and dose on lesion detectability in digital mammography: FROC study with simulated lesions in real mammograms

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

Salvagnini, Elena, E-mail: elena.salvagnini@gmail.

Purpose: The aim of this work was twofold: (1) to examine whether, with standard automatic exposure control (AEC) settings that maintain pixel values in the detector constant, lesion detectability in clinical images decreases as a function of breast thickness and (2) to verify whether a new AEC setup can increase lesion detectability at larger breast thicknesses. Methods: Screening patient images, acquired on two identical digital mammography systems, were collected over a period of 2 yr. Mammograms were acquired under standard AEC conditions (part 1) and subsequently with a new AEC setup (part 2), programmed to use the standard AEC settingsmore » for compressed breast thicknesses ≤49 mm, while a relative dose increase was applied above this thickness. The images were divided into four thickness groups: T1 ≤ 29 mm, T2 = 30–49 mm, T3 = 50–69 mm, and T4 ≥ 70 mm, with each thickness group containing 130 randomly selected craniocaudal lesion-free images. Two measures of density were obtained for every image: a BI-RADS score and a map of volumetric breast density created with a software application (VolparaDensity, Matakina, NZ). This information was used to select subsets of four images, containing one image from each thickness group, matched to a (global) BI-RADS score and containing a region with the same (local) VOLPARA volumetric density value. One selected lesion (a microcalcification cluster or a mass) was simulated into each of the four images. This process was repeated so that, for a given thickness group, half the images contained a single lesion and half were lesion-free. The lesion templates created and inserted in groups T3 and T4 for the first part of the study were then inserted into the images of thickness groups T3 and T4 acquired with higher dose settings. Finally, all images were visualized using the ViewDEX software and scored by four radiologists performing a free search study. A statistical jackknife-alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis was applied. Results: For part 1, the alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic curves for the four readers were 0.80, 0.65, 0.55 and 0.56 in going from T1 to T4, indicating a decrease in detectability with increasing breast thickness. P-values and the 95% confidence interval showed no significant difference for the T3-T4 comparison (p = 0.78) while all the other differences were significant (p < 0.05). Separate analysis of microcalcification clusters presented the same results while for mass detection, the only significant difference came when comparing T1 to the other thickness groups. Comparing the scores of part 1 and part 2, results for the T3 group acquired with the new AEC setup and T3 group at standard AEC doses were significantly different (p = 0.0004), indicating improved detection. For this group a subanalysis for microcalcification detection gave the same results while no significant difference was found for mass detection. Conclusions: These data using clinical images confirm results found in simple QA tests for many mammography systems that detectability falls as breast thickness increases. Results obtained with the AEC setup for constant detectability above 49 mm showed an increase in lesion detection with compressed breast thickness, bringing detectability of lesions to the same level.« less

Subliminal food images compromise superior working memory performance in women with restricting anorexia nervosa.

PubMed

Brooks, Samantha J; O'Daly, Owen G; Uher, Rudolf; Schiöth, Helgi B; Treasure, Janet; Campbell, Iain C

2012-06-01

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) is dysregulated in women with restricting anorexia nervosa (RAN). It is not known whether appetitive non-conscious stimuli bias cognitive responses in those with RAN. Thirteen women with RAN and 20 healthy controls (HC) completed a dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) working memory task and an anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) conflict task, while masked subliminal food, aversive and neutral images were presented. During the DLPFC task, accuracy was higher in the RAN compared to the HC group, but superior performance was compromised when subliminal food stimuli were presented: errors positively correlated with self-reported trait anxiety in the RAN group. These effects were not observed in the ACC task. Appetitive activation is intact and anxiogenic in women with RAN, and non-consciously interacts with working memory processes associated with the DLPFC. This interaction mechanism may underlie cognitive inhibition of appetitive processes that are anxiety inducing, in people with AN. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A fully convolutional networks (FCN) based image segmentation algorithm in binocular imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Zourong; Wei, Biao; Feng, Peng; Yu, Pengwei; Liu, Yuanyuan

2018-01-01

This paper proposes an image segmentation algorithm with fully convolutional networks (FCN) in binocular imaging system under various circumstance. Image segmentation is perfectly solved by semantic segmentation. FCN classifies the pixels, so as to achieve the level of image semantic segmentation. Different from the classical convolutional neural networks (CNN), FCN uses convolution layers instead of the fully connected layers. So it can accept image of arbitrary size. In this paper, we combine the convolutional neural network and scale invariant feature matching to solve the problem of visual positioning under different scenarios. All high-resolution images are captured with our calibrated binocular imaging system and several groups of test data are collected to verify this method. The experimental results show that the binocular images are effectively segmented without over-segmentation. With these segmented images, feature matching via SURF method is implemented to obtain regional information for further image processing. The final positioning procedure shows that the results are acceptable in the range of 1.4 1.6 m, the distance error is less than 10mm.

Quantitative analysis of the side-branch orifice after bifurcation stenting using en-face processing of OCT images: a comparison between Xience V and Resolute Integrity stents.

PubMed

Minami, Yoshiyasu; Wang, Zhao; Aguirre, Aaron D; Lee, Stephen; Uemura, Shiro; Soeda, Tsunenari; Vergallo, Rocco; Raffel, Owen C; Barlis, Peter; Itoh, Tomonori; Lee, Hang; Fujimoto, James; Jang, Ik-Kyung

2016-01-01

Methods for intravascular assessment of the side-branch (SB) orifice after stenting are not readily available. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of an en-face projection processing for optical coherence tomography (OCT) images for SB evaluation. Measurements of the SB orifice obtained using en-face OCT images were validated using a phantom model. Linear regression modeling was applied to estimated area measurements made on the en-face images. The SB orifice was then analyzed in 88 patients with bifurcation lesions treated with either Xience V (everolimus-eluting stent) or Resolute Integrity [zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES)]. The SB orifice area (A) and the area obstructed by struts (B) were calculated, and the %open area was evaluated as (A-B)/A*100. Linear regression modeling demonstrated that the observed departures of the intercept and slope were not significantly different from 0 (-0.12 ± 0.22, P=0.59) and 1 (1.01 ± 0.06, R(2)=0.88, P=0.87), respectively. In cases without SB dilatation, the %open area was significantly larger in the everolimus-eluting stent group (n=25) than in the ZES group [n=32; 89.2% (83.7-91.3) vs. 84.3% (78.9-87.8), P=0.04]. A significant difference in %open area between cases with and those without SB dilatation was demonstrated in the ZES group [91.4% (86.1-94.0) vs. 84.3% (78.9-87.8), P=0.04]. The accuracy of SB orifice measurement on an en-face OCT image was validated using a phantom model. This novel approach enables quantitative evaluation of the differences in SB orifice area free from struts among different stent types and different treatment strategies in vivo.

The Effect of Early Visual Deprivation on the Neural Bases of Auditory Processing.

PubMed

Guerreiro, Maria J S; Putzar, Lisa; Röder, Brigitte

2016-02-03

Transient congenital visual deprivation affects visual and multisensory processing. In contrast, the extent to which it affects auditory processing has not been investigated systematically. Research in permanently blind individuals has revealed brain reorganization during auditory processing, involving both intramodal and crossmodal plasticity. The present study investigated the effect of transient congenital visual deprivation on the neural bases of auditory processing in humans. Cataract-reversal individuals and normally sighted controls performed a speech-in-noise task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Although there were no behavioral group differences, groups differed in auditory cortical responses: in the normally sighted group, auditory cortex activation increased with increasing noise level, whereas in the cataract-reversal group, no activation difference was observed across noise levels. An auditory activation of visual cortex was not observed at the group level in cataract-reversal individuals. The present data suggest prevailing auditory processing advantages after transient congenital visual deprivation, even many years after sight restoration. The present study demonstrates that people whose sight was restored after a transient period of congenital blindness show more efficient cortical processing of auditory stimuli (here speech), similarly to what has been observed in congenitally permanently blind individuals. These results underscore the importance of early sensory experience in permanently shaping brain function. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/361620-11$15.00/0.

Building an outpatient imaging center: A case study at genesis healthcare system, part 2.

PubMed

Yanci, Jim

2006-01-01

In the second of 2 parts, this article will focus on process improvement projects utilizing a case study at Genesis HealthCare System located in Zanesville, OH. Operational efficiency is a key step in developing a freestanding diagnostic imaging center. The process improvement projects began with an Expert Improvement Session (EIS) on the scheduling process. An EIS session is a facilitated meeting that can last anywhere from 3 hours to 2 days. Its intention is to take a group of people involved with the problem or operational process and work to understand current failures or breakdowns in the process. Recommendations are jointly developed to overcome any current deficiencies, and a work plan is structured to create ownership over the changes. A total of 11 EIS sessions occurred over the course of this project, covering 5 sections: Scheduling/telephone call process, Pre-registration, Verification/pre-certification, MRI throughput, CT throughput. Following is a single example of a project focused on the process improvement efforts. All of the process improvement projects utilized a quasi methodology of "DMAIC" (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control).

Remote Sensing Image Quality Assessment Experiment with Post-Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, W.; Chen, S.; Wang, X.; Huang, Q.; Shi, H.; Man, Y.

2018-04-01

This paper briefly describes the post-processing influence assessment experiment, the experiment includes three steps: the physical simulation, image processing, and image quality assessment. The physical simulation models sampled imaging system in laboratory, the imaging system parameters are tested, the digital image serving as image processing input are produced by this imaging system with the same imaging system parameters. The gathered optical sampled images with the tested imaging parameters are processed by 3 digital image processes, including calibration pre-processing, lossy compression with different compression ratio and image post-processing with different core. Image quality assessment method used is just noticeable difference (JND) subject assessment based on ISO20462, through subject assessment of the gathered and processing images, the influence of different imaging parameters and post-processing to image quality can be found. The six JND subject assessment experimental data can be validated each other. Main conclusions include: image post-processing can improve image quality; image post-processing can improve image quality even with lossy compression, image quality with higher compression ratio improves less than lower ratio; with our image post-processing method, image quality is better, when camera MTF being within a small range.

The enhancement of visuospatial processing efficiency through Buddhist Deity meditation.

PubMed

Kozhevnikov, Maria; Louchakova, Olga; Josipovic, Zoran; Motes, Michael A

2009-05-01

This study examined the effects of meditation on mental imagery, evaluating Buddhist monks' reports concerning their extraordinary imagery skills. Practitioners of Buddhist meditation were divided into two groups according to their preferred meditation style: Deity Yoga (focused attention on an internal visual image) or Open Presence (evenly distributed attention, not directed to any particular object). Both groups of meditators completed computerized mental-imagery tasks before and after meditation. Their performance was compared with that of control groups, who either rested or performed other visuospatial tasks between testing sessions. The results indicate that all the groups performed at the same baseline level, but after meditation, Deity Yoga practitioners demonstrated a dramatic increase in performance on imagery tasks compared with the other groups. The results suggest that Deity meditation specifically trains one's capacity to access heightened visuospatial processing resources, rather than generally improving visuospatial imagery abilities.

Boosting CNN performance for lung texture classification using connected filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarando, Sebastián. Roberto; Fetita, Catalin; Kim, Young-Wouk; Cho, Hyoun; Brillet, Pierre-Yves

2018-02-01

Infiltrative lung diseases describe a large group of irreversible lung disorders requiring regular follow-up with CT imaging. Quantifying the evolution of the patient status imposes the development of automated classification tools for lung texture. This paper presents an original image pre-processing framework based on locally connected filtering applied in multiresolution, which helps improving the learning process and boost the performance of CNN for lung texture classification. By removing the dense vascular network from images used by the CNN for lung classification, locally connected filters provide a better discrimination between different lung patterns and help regularizing the classification output. The approach was tested in a preliminary evaluation on a 10 patient database of various lung pathologies, showing an increase of 10% in true positive rate (on average for all the cases) with respect to the state of the art cascade of CNNs for this task.

Functional imaging of conditioned aversive emotional responses in antisocial personality disorder.

PubMed

Schneider, F; Habel, U; Kessler, C; Posse, S; Grodd, W; Müller-Gärtner, H W

2000-01-01

Individuals with antisocial personality disorder (n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 12) were examined for cerebral regional activation involved in the processing of negative affect. A differential aversive classical conditioning paradigm was applied with odors as unconditioned stimuli and faces as conditioned stimuli. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) based on echo-planar imaging was used while cerebral activity was studied during habituation, acquisition, and extinction. Individually defined cerebral regions were analyzed. Both groups indicated behavioral conditioning following subjective ratings of emotional valence to conditioned stimuli. Differential effects were found during acquisition in the amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Controls showed signal decreases, patients signal increases. These preliminary results revealed unexpected signal increases in cortical/subcortical areas of patients. The increases may result from an additional effort put in by these individuals to form negative emotional associations, a pattern of processing that may correspond to their characteristic deviant emotional behavior. Copyright 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Intact brain processing of musical emotions in autism spectrum disorder, but more cognitive load and arousal in happy vs. sad music.

PubMed

Gebauer, Line; Skewes, Joshua; Westphael, Gitte; Heaton, Pamela; Vuust, Peter

2014-01-01

Music is a potent source for eliciting emotions, but not everybody experience emotions in the same way. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show difficulties with social and emotional cognition. Impairments in emotion recognition are widely studied in ASD, and have been associated with atypical brain activation in response to emotional expressions in faces and speech. Whether these impairments and atypical brain responses generalize to other domains, such as emotional processing of music, is less clear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated neural correlates of emotion recognition in music in high-functioning adults with ASD and neurotypical adults. Both groups engaged similar neural networks during processing of emotional music, and individuals with ASD rated emotional music comparable to the group of neurotypical individuals. However, in the ASD group, increased activity in response to happy compared to sad music was observed in dorsolateral prefrontal regions and in the rolandic operculum/insula, and we propose that this reflects increased cognitive processing and physiological arousal in response to emotional musical stimuli in this group.

Imaging informatics for consumer health: towards a radiology patient portal

PubMed Central

Arnold, Corey W; McNamara, Mary; El-Saden, Suzie; Chen, Shawn; Taira, Ricky K; Bui, Alex A T

2013-01-01

Objective With the increased routine use of advanced imaging in clinical diagnosis and treatment, it has become imperative to provide patients with a means to view and understand their imaging studies. We illustrate the feasibility of a patient portal that automatically structures and integrates radiology reports with corresponding imaging studies according to several information orientations tailored for the layperson. Methods The imaging patient portal is composed of an image processing module for the creation of a timeline that illustrates the progression of disease, a natural language processing module to extract salient concepts from radiology reports (73% accuracy, F1 score of 0.67), and an interactive user interface navigable by an imaging findings list. The portal was developed as a Java-based web application and is demonstrated for patients with brain cancer. Results and discussion The system was exhibited at an international radiology conference to solicit feedback from a diverse group of healthcare professionals. There was wide support for educating patients about their imaging studies, and an appreciation for the informatics tools used to simplify images and reports for consumer interpretation. Primary concerns included the possibility of patients misunderstanding their results, as well as worries regarding accidental improper disclosure of medical information. Conclusions Radiologic imaging composes a significant amount of the evidence used to make diagnostic and treatment decisions, yet there are few tools for explaining this information to patients. The proposed radiology patient portal provides a framework for organizing radiologic results into several information orientations to support patient education. PMID:23739614

Research Priorities in the Utilization and Interpretation of Diagnostic Imaging: Education, Assessment, and Competency.

PubMed

Lewiss, Resa E; Chan, Wilma; Sheng, Alexander Y; Soto, Jorge; Castro, Alexandra; Meltzer, Andrew C; Cherney, Alan; Kumaravel, Manickam; Cody, Dianna; Chen, Esther H

2015-12-01

The appropriate selection and accurate interpretation of diagnostic imaging is a crucial skill for emergency practitioners. To date, the majority of the published literature and research on competency assessment comes from the subspecialty of point-of-care ultrasound. A group of radiologists, physicists, and emergency physicians convened at the 2015 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference to discuss and prioritize a research agenda related to education, assessment, and competency in ordering and interpreting diagnostic imaging. A set of questions for the continued development of an educational curriculum on diagnostic imaging for trainees and competency assessment using specific assessment methods based on current best practices was delineated. The research priorities were developed through an iterative consensus-driven process using a modified nominal group technique that culminated in an in-person breakout session. The four recommendations are: 1) develop a diagnostic imaging curriculum for emergency medicine (EM) residency training; 2) develop, study, and validate tools to assess competency in diagnostic imaging interpretation; 3) evaluate the role of simulation in education, assessment, and competency measures for diagnostic imaging; 4) study is needed regarding the American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria, an evidence-based peer-reviewed resource in determining the use of diagnostic imaging, to maximize its value in EM. In this article, the authors review the supporting reliability and validity evidence and make specific recommendations for future research on the education, competency, and assessment of learning diagnostic imaging. © 2015 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Factors That Will Determine Future Utilization Trends in Diagnostic Imaging.

PubMed

Levin, David C; Rao, Vijay M

2016-08-01

Radiologists are facing uncertain times, and in this kind of environment, strategic planning is important but difficult. In particular, it is hard to know whether future imaging volume will increase, decrease, or stay approximately the same. In this article, the authors discuss a variety of factors that will influence imaging use in the coming years. Some factors will tend to increase imaging use, whereas others will tend to curtail it. Some of these factors will affect individual groups differently, depending on their locations and the circumstances of their practices. Radiologists would be well advised to become aware of and consider these factors as they go about their planning processes. Copyright © 2016 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial and spectral analysis of corneal epithelium injury using hyperspectral images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Md Noor, Siti Salwa; Michael, Kaleena; Marshall, Stephen; Ren, Jinchang

2017-12-01

Eye assessment is essential in preventing blindness. Currently, the existing methods to assess corneal epithelium injury are complex and require expert knowledge. Hence, we have introduced a non-invasive technique using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and an image analysis algorithm of corneal epithelium injury. Three groups of images were compared and analyzed, namely healthy eyes, injured eyes, and injured eyes with stain. Dimensionality reduction using principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce massive data and redundancies. The first 10 principal components (PCs) were selected for further processing. The mean vector of 10 PCs with 45 pairs of all combinations was computed and sent to two classifiers. A quadratic Bayes normal classifier (QDC) and a support vector classifier (SVC) were used in this study to discriminate the eleven eyes into three groups. As a result, the combined classifier of QDC and SVC showed optimal performance with 2D PCA features (2DPCA-QDSVC) and was utilized to classify normal and abnormal tissues, using color image segmentation. The result was compared with human segmentation. The outcome showed that the proposed algorithm produced extremely promising results to assist the clinician in quantifying a cornea injury.

Why is quality estimation judgment fast? Comparison of gaze control strategies in quality and difference estimation tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radun, Jenni; Leisti, Tuomas; Virtanen, Toni; Nyman, Göte; Häkkinen, Jukka

2014-11-01

To understand the viewing strategies employed in a quality estimation task, we compared two visual tasks-quality estimation and difference estimation. The estimation was done for a pair of natural images having small global changes in quality. Two groups of observers estimated the same set of images, but with different instructions. One group estimated the difference in quality and the other the difference between image pairs. The results demonstrated the use of different visual strategies in the tasks. The quality estimation was found to include more visual planning during the first fixation than the difference estimation, but afterward needed only a few long fixations on the semantically important areas of the image. The difference estimation used many short fixations. Salient image areas were mainly attended to when these areas were also semantically important. The results support the hypothesis that these tasks' general characteristics (evaluation time, number of fixations, area fixated on) show differences in processing, but also suggest that examining only single fixations when comparing tasks is too narrow a view. When planning a subjective experiment, one must remember that a small change in the instructions might lead to a noticeable change in viewing strategy.

Effects of moving training on histology and biomarkers levels of articular cartilage.

PubMed

Qi, Chang; Changlin, Huang

2006-10-01

To study the adaptation process and extent of articular cartilage in the canine knee joint to different modes of movements and to investigate if levels of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), matrix metalloproteinases-1 (MMP-1), matrix metalloproteinases-3 (MMP-3), and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) in serum and synovial fluid can be used to predict effectively early sports injury and remolding degree of articular cartilage in the canine knee. Twenty adult dogs divided randomly into three groups (eight in the common training group, Training Group; eight in the intensified training group, Intensified Group; and four in the Control Group) were trained daily at different intensities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations were performed regularly (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 weeks) to investigate changes of articular cartilage in the canine knee, while concentrations of COMP, MMP-1, MMP-3, and TIMP-1 in serum and synovial fluid were measured by ELISA assays. All of the dogs were euthanized after training for 10 weeks, and all of the knee joints were taken out to be examined histologically. We could find imaging changes of early sport injury of articular cartilage in the Training Group and Intensified Group by MRI examination after 2 weeks of training; the damage images were most severe in 4-6 weeks, and then lightened gradually. We could not find the difference of cartilage injury and repair degree in MRI images between these two groups at different time points. Elevations of levels of COMP, MMP-1, MMP-3, TIMP-1, and MMP-3/TIMP-1 in serum and synovial fluid were seen during the training period, and their levels changed remarkably at different times. Levels of MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-3/TIMP-1 in the Intensified Group were lower than that in the Training Group in general, and levels of COMP were higher, which hinted that the injury trend of articular cartilage in the Intensified Group was lower than that in the Training group, and the repair trend was higher. Furthermore, there were statistically significant associations between biomarker levels in serum and in synovial fluid. Histological examinations in 10 weeks demonstrated that the signs of cartilage damage and repair in canine knee joint in the Training Group and the Intensified Group were obvious, and the Intensified Group could do better than the Training Group in promoting remodeling reconstruction of articular cartilage. High-intensity and repetitive movement may easily induce sports injury, and it is followed with a repair process; intensified training can do better than common training in promoting remodeling reconstruction of articular cartilage. The sensitivity of these biomarkers reflecting articular cartilage pathological changes is better than MRI, and the associated application of several biomarkers to predict the extent of damage and repair, as well as changes of metabolism in articular cartilage, and to monitor change of disease course has very good value for clinical application.

Classification algorithm of ovarian tissue based on co-registered ultrasound and photoacoustic tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hai; Kumavor, Patrick D.; Alqasemi, Umar; Zhu, Quing

2014-03-01

Human ovarian tissue features extracted from photoacoustic spectra data, beam envelopes and co-registered ultrasound and photoacoustic images are used to characterize cancerous vs. normal processes using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The centers of suspicious tumor areas are estimated from the Gaussian fitting of the mean Radon transforms of the photoacoustic image along 0 and 90 degrees. Normalized power spectra are calculated using the Fourier transform of the photoacoustic beamformed data across these suspicious areas, where the spectral slope and 0-MHz intercepts are extracted. Image statistics, envelope histogram fitting and maximum output of 6 composite filters of cancerous or normal patterns along with other previously used features are calculated to compose a total of 17 features. These features are extracted from 169 datasets of 19 ex vivo ovaries. Half of the cancerous and normal datasets are randomly chosen to train a SVM classifier with polynomial kernel and the remainder is used for testing. With 50 times data resampling, the SVM classifier, for the training group, gives 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. For the testing group, it gives 89.68+/- 6.37% sensitivity and 93.16+/- 3.70% specificity. These results are superior to those obtained earlier by our group using features extracted from photoacoustic raw data or image statistics only.

PyEmir: Data Reduction Pipeline for EMIR, the GTC Near-IR Multi-Object Spectrograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascual, S.; Gallego, J.; Cardiel, N.; Eliche-Moral, M. C.

2010-12-01

EMIR is the near-infrared wide-field camera and multi-slit spectrograph being built for Gran Telescopio Canarias. We present here the work being done on its data processing pipeline. PyEmir is based on Python and it will process automatically data taken in both imaging and spectroscopy mode. PyEmir is begin developed by the UCM Group of Extragalactic Astrophysics and Astronomical Instrumentation.

The "Perceptual Wedge Hypothesis" as the Basis for Bilingual Babies' Phonetic Processing Advantage: New insights from fNIRS Brain Imaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petitto, L. A.; Berens, M. S.; Kovelman, I.; Dubins, M. H.; Jasinska, K.; Shalinsky, M.

2012-01-01

In a neuroimaging study focusing on young bilinguals, we explored the brains of bilingual and monolingual babies across two age groups (younger 4-6 months, older 10-12 months), using fNIRS in a new event-related design, as babies processed linguistic phonetic (Native English, Non-Native Hindi) and nonlinguistic Tone stimuli. We found that phonetic…

Emotional conflict processing in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot study using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Wortinger, Laura Anne; Endestad, Tor; Melinder, Annika Maria D; Øie, Merete Glenne; Sulheim, Dag; Fagermoen, Even; Wyller, Vegard Bruun

2017-05-01

Studies of neurocognition suggest that abnormalities in cognitive control contribute to the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in adolescents, yet these abnormalities remain poorly understood at the neurobiological level. Reports indicate that adolescents with CFS are significantly impaired in conflict processing, a primary element of cognitive control. In this study, we examine whether emotional conflict processing is altered on behavioral and neural levels in adolescents with CFS and a healthy comparison group. Fifteen adolescent patients with CFS and 24 healthy adolescent participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an emotional conflict task that involved categorizing facial affect while ignoring overlaid affect labeled words. Adolescent CFS patients were less able to engage the left amygdala and left midposterior insula (mpINS) in response to conflict than the healthy comparison group. An association between accuracy interference and conflict-related reactivity in the amygdala was observed in CFS patients. A relationship between response time interference and conflict-related reactivity in the mpINS was also reported. Neural responses in the amygdala and mpINS were specific to fatigue severity. These data demonstrate that adolescent CFS patients displayed deficits in emotional conflict processing. Our results suggest abnormalities in affective and cognitive functioning of the salience network, which might underlie the pathophysiology of adolescent CFS.

Quantitative optical scanning tests of complex microcircuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, J. J.

1980-01-01

An approach for the development of the optical scanner as a screening inspection instrument for microcircuits involves comparing the quantitative differences in photoresponse images and then correlating them with electrical parameter differences in test devices. The existing optical scanner was modified so that the photoresponse data could be recorded and subsequently digitized. A method was devised for applying digital image processing techniques to the digitized photoresponse data in order to quantitatively compare the data. Electrical tests were performed and photoresponse images were recorded before and following life test intervals on two groups of test devices. Correlations were made between differences or changes in the electrical parameters of the test devices.

Virtual and stereoscopic anatomy: when virtual reality meets medical education.

PubMed

de Faria, Jose Weber Vieira; Teixeira, Manoel Jacobsen; de Moura Sousa Júnior, Leonardo; Otoch, Jose Pinhata; Figueiredo, Eberval Gadelha

2016-11-01

OBJECTIVE The authors sought to construct, implement, and evaluate an interactive and stereoscopic resource for teaching neuroanatomy, accessible from personal computers. METHODS Forty fresh brains (80 hemispheres) were dissected. Images of areas of interest were captured using a manual turntable and processed and stored in a 5337-image database. Pedagogic evaluation was performed in 84 graduate medical students, divided into 3 groups: 1 (conventional method), 2 (interactive nonstereoscopic), and 3 (interactive and stereoscopic). The method was evaluated through a written theory test and a lab practicum. RESULTS Groups 2 and 3 showed the highest mean scores in pedagogic evaluations and differed significantly from Group 1 (p < 0.05). Group 2 did not differ statistically from Group 3 (p > 0.05). Size effects, measured as differences in scores before and after lectures, indicate the effectiveness of the method. ANOVA results showed significant difference (p < 0.05) between groups, and the Tukey test showed statistical differences between Group 1 and the other 2 groups (p < 0.05). No statistical differences between Groups 2 and 3 were found in the practicum. However, there were significant differences when Groups 2 and 3 were compared with Group 1 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The authors conclude that this method promoted further improvement in knowledge for students and fostered significantly higher learning when compared with traditional teaching resources.

Sequential vs simultaneous encoding of spatial information: a comparison between the blind and the sighted.

PubMed

Ruotolo, Francesco; Ruggiero, Gennaro; Vinciguerra, Michela; Iachini, Tina

2012-02-01

The aim of this research is to assess whether the crucial factor in determining the characteristics of blind people's spatial mental images is concerned with the visual impairment per se or the processing style that the dominant perceptual modalities used to acquire spatial information impose, i.e. simultaneous (vision) vs sequential (kinaesthesis). Participants were asked to learn six positions in a large parking area via movement alone (congenitally blind, adventitiously blind, blindfolded sighted) or with vision plus movement (simultaneous sighted, sequential sighted), and then to mentally scan between positions in the path. The crucial manipulation concerned the sequential sighted group. Their visual exploration was made sequential by putting visual obstacles within the pathway in such a way that they could not see simultaneously the positions along the pathway. The results revealed a significant time/distance linear relation in all tested groups. However, the linear component was lower in sequential sighted and blind participants, especially congenital. Sequential sighted and congenitally blind participants showed an almost overlapping performance. Differences between groups became evident when mentally scanning farther distances (more than 5m). This threshold effect could be revealing of processing limitations due to the need of integrating and updating spatial information. Overall, the results suggest that the characteristics of the processing style rather than the visual impairment per se affect blind people's spatial mental images. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hyperspectral imagery for observing spectral signature change in Aspergillus flavus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiCrispino, Kevin; Yao, Haibo; Hruska, Zuzana; Brabham, Kori; Lewis, David; Beach, Jim; Brown, Robert L.; Cleveland, Thomas E.

2005-11-01

Aflatoxin contaminated corn is dangerous for domestic animals when used as feed and cause liver cancer when consumed by human beings. Therefore, the ability to detect A. flavus and its toxic metabolite, aflatoxin, is important. The objective of this study is to measure A. flavus growth using hyperspectral technology and develop spectral signatures for A. flavus. Based on the research group's previous experiments using hyperspectral imaging techniques, it has been confirmed that the spectral signature of A. flavus is unique and readily identifiable against any background or surrounding surface and among other fungal strains. This study focused on observing changes in the A. flavus spectral signature over an eight-day growth period. The study used a visible-near-infrared hyperspectral image system for data acquisition. This image system uses focal plane pushbroom scanning for high spatial and high spectral resolution imaging. Procedures previously developed by the research group were used for image calibration and image processing. The results showed that while A. flavus gradually progressed along the experiment timeline, the day-to-day surface reflectance of A. flavus displayed significant difference in discreet regions of the wavelength spectrum. External disturbance due to environmental changes also altered the growth and subsequently changed the reflectance patterns of A. flavus.

North Twin Peak in super resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

This pair of images shows the result of taking a sequence of 25 identical exposures from the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) of the northern Twin Peak, with small camera motions, and processing them with the Super-Resolution algorithm developed at NASA's Ames Research Center.

The upper image is a representative input image, scaled up by a factor of five, with the pixel edges smoothed out for a fair comparison. The lower image allows significantly finer detail to be resolved.

Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.

The super-resolution research was conducted by Peter Cheeseman, Bob Kanefsky, Robin Hanson, and John Stutz of NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA. More information on this technology is available on the Ames Super Resolution home page at

http://ic-www.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/ group/super-res/

Improving poor fill factors for solar cells via light-induced plating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xing; Rui, Jia; Wuchang, Ding; Yanlong, Meng; Zhi, Jin; Xinyu, Liu

2012-09-01

Silicon solar cells are prepared following the conventional fabrication processes, except for the metallization firing process. The cells are divided into two groups with higher and lower fill factors, respectively. After light-induced plating (LIP), the fill factors of the solar cells in both groups with different initial values reach the same level. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images are taken under the bulk silver electrodes, which prove that the improvement for cells with a poor factor after LIP should benefit from sufficient exploitation of the high density silver crystals formed during the firing process. Moreover, the application of LIP to cells with poor electrode contact performance, such as nanowire cells and radial junction solar cells, is proposed.

Final Scientific/Technical Report for DE-FG02-07ER64500 Study of Lignocellulosic Material Degradation with CARS Microscopy

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

Xie, Xiaoliang Sunney; Ding, Shi-You

2013-09-30

The program of research undertaken by our Harvard group, in collaboration with Dr. Ding at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO, seeks to introduce, validate and apply a new analytical technique to study the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into ethanol. This conversion process has been the subject of intense interest over the past few years because of its potential to provide a clean, renewable source of energy to meet increasing global demand. During the funding period, we have clearly demonstrated visualization of lignin and cellulose using intrinsic vibrational contrast with simulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, developed atmore » Harvard. Our approach offers high spatial resolution and time resolution that is sufficient to capture the kinetics of a pre‐treatment process. This is reflected by the publications listed below, as well as the use of SRS microscopy at NREL as a routine analysis tool for research on lignocellulosic biomass. In our original proposal, we envisioned moving to near‐field CARS imaging in order to perform chemical mapping at the nanoscale. However, given the dramatic progress made by our group in SRS imaging, we concentrated our efforts on using multi‐component SRS (lignin, cellulose, lipid, water, protein, deuterated metabolites, etc.) to quantitatively understand the spatially dispersed kinetics in a variety of plant samples under a variety of conditions. In addition, we built a next generation laser system based on fiber laser technology that allowed rugged and portable instrumentation for SRS microscopy. We also pursued new imaging approaches to improve the acquisition speed of SRS imaging of lignocellulose without sacrificing signal‐to‐noise ratio. This allowed us to image larger volumes of tissue with higher time resolution to get a more comprehensive picture of the heterogeneity of this chemical process from the submicron up to the centimeter scale.« less

Reducing uncertainty on satellite image classification through spatiotemporal reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partsinevelos, Panagiotis; Nikolakaki, Natassa; Psillakis, Periklis; Miliaresis, George; Xanthakis, Michail

2014-05-01

The natural habitat constantly endures both inherent natural and human-induced influences. Remote sensing has been providing monitoring oriented solutions regarding the natural Earth surface, by offering a series of tools and methodologies which contribute to prudent environmental management. Processing and analysis of multi-temporal satellite images for the observation of the land changes include often classification and change-detection techniques. These error prone procedures are influenced mainly by the distinctive characteristics of the study areas, the remote sensing systems limitations and the image analysis processes. The present study takes advantage of the temporal continuity of multi-temporal classified images, in order to reduce classification uncertainty, based on reasoning rules. More specifically, pixel groups that temporally oscillate between classes are liable to misclassification or indicate problematic areas. On the other hand, constant pixel group growth indicates a pressure prone area. Computational tools are developed in order to disclose the alterations in land use dynamics and offer a spatial reference to the pressures that land use classes endure and impose between them. Moreover, by revealing areas that are susceptible to misclassification, we propose specific target site selection for training during the process of supervised classification. The underlying objective is to contribute to the understanding and analysis of anthropogenic and environmental factors that influence land use changes. The developed algorithms have been tested upon Landsat satellite image time series, depicting the National Park of Ainos in Kefallinia, Greece, where the unique in the world Abies cephalonica grows. Along with the minor changes and pressures indicated in the test area due to harvesting and other human interventions, the developed algorithms successfully captured fire incidents that have been historically confirmed. Overall, the results have shown that the use of the suggested procedures can contribute to the reduction of the classification uncertainty and support the existing knowledge regarding the pressure among land-use changes.

Toward image phylogeny forests: automatically recovering semantically similar image relationships.

PubMed

Dias, Zanoni; Goldenstein, Siome; Rocha, Anderson

2013-09-10

In the past few years, several near-duplicate detection methods appeared in the literature to identify the cohabiting versions of a given document online. Following this trend, there are some initial attempts to go beyond the detection task, and look into the structure of evolution within a set of related images overtime. In this paper, we aim at automatically identify the structure of relationships underlying the images, correctly reconstruct their past history and ancestry information, and group them in distinct trees of processing history. We introduce a new algorithm that automatically handles sets of images comprising different related images, and outputs the phylogeny trees (also known as a forest) associated with them. Image phylogeny algorithms have many applications such as finding the first image within a set posted online (useful for tracking copyright infringement perpetrators), hint at child pornography content creators, and narrowing down a list of suspects for online harassment using photographs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scleral Lens Clearance Assessment with Biomicroscopy and Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography.

PubMed

Yeung, Debby; Sorbara, Luigina

2018-01-01

It is important to be able to accurately estimate the central corneal clearance when fitting scleral contact lenses. Tools available have intrinsic biases due to the angle of viewing, and therefore an idea of the amount of error in estimation will benefit the fitter. To compare the accuracy of observers' ability to estimate scleral contact lens central corneal clearance (CCC) with biomicroscopy to measurements using slit-lamp imaging and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). In a Web-based survey with images of four scleral lens fits obtained with a slit-lamp video imaging system, participants were asked to estimate the CCC. Responses were compared with known values of CCC of these images determined with an image-processing program (digital CCC) and using the AS-OCT (AS-OCT CCC). Bland-Altman plots and concordance correlation coefficients were used to assess the agreement of CCC measured by the various methods. Sixty-six participants were categorized for analysis based on the amount of experience with scleral lens fitting into novice, intermediate, or advanced fitters. Comparing the estimated CCC to the digital CCC, all three groups overestimated by an average of +27.3 ± 67.3 μm. The estimated CCC was highly correlated to the digital CCC (0.79, 0.92, and 0.94 for each group, respectively). Compared with the CCC measurements using AS-OCT, the three groups of participants overestimated by +103.3 μm and had high correlations (0.79, 0.93, and 0.94 for each group). Results from this study validate the ability of contact lens practitioners to observe and estimate the CCC in scleral lens fittings through the use of biomicroscopic viewing. Increasing experience with scleral lens fitting does not improve the correlation with measured CCC from digital or the AS-OCT. However, the intermediate and advanced groups display significantly less inter-observer variability compared with the novice group.

LoCuSS: pre-processing in galaxy groups falling into massive galaxy clusters at z = 0.2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianconi, M.; Smith, G. P.; Haines, C. P.; McGee, S. L.; Finoguenov, A.; Egami, E.

2018-01-01

We report direct evidence of pre-processing of the galaxies residing in galaxy groups falling into galaxy clusters drawn from the Local Cluster Substructure Survey (LoCuSS). 34 groups have been identified via their X-ray emission in the infall regions of 23 massive ( = 1015 M⊙) clusters at 0.15 < z < 0.3. Highly complete spectroscopic coverage combined with 24 μm imaging from Spitzer allows us to make a consistent and robust selection of cluster and group members including star-forming galaxies down to a stellar mass limit of M⋆ = 2 × 1010 M⊙. The fraction fSF of star-forming galaxies in infalling groups is lower and with a flatter trend with respect to clustercentric radius when compared to the rest of the cluster galaxy population. At R ≈ 1.3 r200, the fraction of star-forming galaxies in infalling groups is half that in the cluster galaxy population. This is direct evidence that star-formation quenching is effective in galaxies already prior to them settling in the cluster potential, and that groups are favourable locations for this process.

We get the algorithms of our ground truths: Designing referential databases in digital image processing

PubMed Central

Jaton, Florian

2017-01-01

This article documents the practical efforts of a group of scientists designing an image-processing algorithm for saliency detection. By following the actors of this computer science project, the article shows that the problems often considered to be the starting points of computational models are in fact provisional results of time-consuming, collective and highly material processes that engage habits, desires, skills and values. In the project being studied, problematization processes lead to the constitution of referential databases called ‘ground truths’ that enable both the effective shaping of algorithms and the evaluation of their performances. Working as important common touchstones for research communities in image processing, the ground truths are inherited from prior problematization processes and may be imparted to subsequent ones. The ethnographic results of this study suggest two complementary analytical perspectives on algorithms: (1) an ‘axiomatic’ perspective that understands algorithms as sets of instructions designed to solve given problems computationally in the best possible way, and (2) a ‘problem-oriented’ perspective that understands algorithms as sets of instructions designed to computationally retrieve outputs designed and designated during specific problematization processes. If the axiomatic perspective on algorithms puts the emphasis on the numerical transformations of inputs into outputs, the problem-oriented perspective puts the emphasis on the definition of both inputs and outputs. PMID:28950802

Processing graspable object images and their nouns is impaired in Parkinson's disease patients.

PubMed

Buccino, Giovanni; Dalla Volta, Riccardo; Arabia, Gennarina; Morelli, Maurizio; Chiriaco, Carmelina; Lupo, Angela; Silipo, Franco; Quattrone, Aldo

2018-03-01

According to embodiment, the recruitment of the motor system is necessary to process language material expressing a motor content. Coherently, an impairment of the motor system should affect the capacity to process language items with a motor content. The aim of the present study was to assess the capacity to process graspable objects and their nouns in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and healthy controls. Participants saw photos and nouns depicting graspable and non-graspable objects. Scrambled images and pseudo-words served as control stimuli. At 150 msec after stimulus presentation, they had to respond when the stimulus referred to a real object, and refrain from responding when it was meaningless (go-no go paradigm). In the control group, participants gave slower motor responses for stimuli (both photos and nouns) related to graspable objects as compared to non-graspable ones. This in keeping with data obtained in a previous study with young healthy participants. In the PD group, motor responses were similar for both graspable and non-graspable items. Moreover, error number was significantly greater than in controls. These findings support the notion that when the motor circuits are lesioned, like in PD, patients do not show the typical modulation of motor responses and have troubles in processing graspable objects and their nouns. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

DOCLIB: a software library for document processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeger, Stefan; Zhu, Guangyu; Doermann, David; Chen, Kevin; Sampat, Summit

2006-01-01

Most researchers would agree that research in the field of document processing can benefit tremendously from a common software library through which institutions are able to develop and share research-related software and applications across academic, business, and government domains. However, despite several attempts in the past, the research community still lacks a widely-accepted standard software library for document processing. This paper describes a new library called DOCLIB, which tries to overcome the drawbacks of earlier approaches. Many of DOCLIB's features are unique either in themselves or in their combination with others, e.g. the factory concept for support of different image types, the juxtaposition of image data and metadata, or the add-on mechanism. We cherish the hope that DOCLIB serves the needs of researchers better than previous approaches and will readily be accepted by a larger group of scientists.

Characterizing the scientific potential of satellite sensors. [San Francisco, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Eleven thematic mapper (TM) radiometric calibration programs were tested and evaluated in support of the task to characterize the potential of LANDSAT TM digital imagery for scientific investigations in the Earth sciences and terrestrial physics. Three software errors related to integer overflow, divide by zero, and nonexist file group were found and solved. Raw, calibrated, and corrected image groups that were created and stored on the Barker2 disk are enumerated. Black and white pixel print files were created for various subscenes of a San Francisco scene (ID 40392-18152). The development of linear regression software is discussed. The output of the software and its function are described. Future work in TM radiometric calibration, image processing, and software development is outlined.

Computed tomographic (CT) neuroradiological evaluation of intra-axial and extra-axial lesions: a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) study of film and 1K workstation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Saden, Suzie; Hademenos, George J.; Zhu, Wei; Sayre, James W.; Glenn, Brad; Steidler, Jim; Kode, L.; King, Brian; Quinones, Diana; Valentino, Daniel J.; Bentsen, John R.

1995-04-01

Digital display workstations are now commonly used for cross-sectional image viewing; however, few receiver operating characteristic (ROC) studies have been performed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of hard copy versus a workstation display for neuroradiology applications. We have performed an ROC study of film and 1K workstation based on the diagnostic performance of neuroradiology fellows to detect subtle intra- axial (high density (HD) and low density (LD)) and extra-axial (fluid, blood) lesions presented on computed tomographic (CT) images. An ROC analysis of the interpretation of approximately 200 CT images (1/2 normals and 1/2 abnormals) was performed by five experienced observers. The total number of abnormal images were equally divided among the three represented types of lesions (HD, LD, and extra-axial lesions). The images comprising the extra-axial lesion group were further subdivided into the following three distinct types: subdural hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and epidural hemorrhage. A fraction of the abnormal images were represented by more than one type of lesion, e.g., one abnormal image could contain both a HD and LD lesion. The digitized CT images were separated into four groups and read on the standard light box and a 1K workstation monitor equipped with simple image processing functions. Confidence ratings were scaled on a range from 0 (least confident) to 4 (most confident). Reader order sequences were randomized for each reader and for each modality. Each observer read from a total of eight different groups with a four-week intermission following the fourth group. The randomly assigned image number, lesion type and approximate location, incidental findings and comments, and confidence ratings were reported in individual worksheets for each image. ROC curves that were generated and analyzed for the various subgroups are presented in addition to the overall generalized jackknifed estimates of the grouped data. Also, 95% confidence intervals are presented for the differences in the area under the ROC curves. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the diagnostic accuracy between the original CT slice with HD and LD lesions viewed on the light box and on the 1K display workstation, the observers tended to record extra- axial lesions more frequently and with more confidence on the 1K display in comparison to the light box primarily due to the added advantage of adjusting the display window levels.

Current Status of Efforts on Standardizing Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Report from the OMERACT MRI in JIA Working Group and Health-e-Child.

PubMed

Nusman, Charlotte M; Ording Muller, Lil-Sofie; Hemke, Robert; Doria, Andrea S; Avenarius, Derk; Tzaribachev, Nikolay; Malattia, Clara; van Rossum, Marion A J; Maas, Mario; Rosendahl, Karen

2016-01-01

To report on the progress of an ongoing research collaboration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and describe the proceedings of a meeting, held prior to Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) 12, bringing together the OMERACT MRI in JIA working group and the Health-e-Child radiology group. The goal of the meeting was to establish agreement on scoring definitions, locations, and scales for the assessment of MRI of patients with JIA for both large and small joints. The collaborative work process included premeeting surveys, presentations, group discussions, consensus on scoring methods, pilot scoring, conjoint review, and discussion of a future research agenda. The meeting resulted in preliminary statements on the MR imaging protocol of the JIA knee and wrist and determination of the starting point for development of MRI scoring systems based on previous studies. It was also considered important to be descriptive rather than explanatory in the assessment of MRI in JIA (e.g., "thickening" instead of "hypertrophy"). Further, the group agreed that well-designed calibration sessions were warranted before any future scoring exercises were conducted. The combined efforts of the OMERACT MRI in JIA working group and Health-e-Child included the assessment of currently available material in the literature and determination of the basis from which to start the development of MRI scoring systems for both the knee and wrist. The future research agenda for the knee and wrist will include establishment of MRI scoring systems, an atlas of MR imaging in healthy children, and MRI protocol requisites.

Actual drawing of histological images improves knowledge retention.

PubMed

Balemans, Monique C M; Kooloos, Jan G M; Donders, A Rogier T; Van der Zee, Catharina E E M

2016-01-01

Medical students have to process a large amount of information during the first years of their study, which has to be retained over long periods of nonuse. Therefore, it would be beneficial when knowledge is gained in a way that promotes long-term retention. Paper-and-pencil drawings for the uptake of form-function relationships of basic tissues has been a teaching tool for a long time, but now seems to be redundant with virtual microscopy on computer-screens and printers everywhere. Several studies claimed that, apart from learning from pictures, actual drawing of images significantly improved knowledge retention. However, these studies applied only immediate post-tests. We investigated the effects of actual drawing of histological images, using randomized cross-over design and different retention periods. The first part of the study concerned esophageal and tracheal epithelium, with 384 medical and biomedical sciences students randomly assigned to either the drawing or the nondrawing group. For the second part of the study, concerning heart muscle cells, students from the previous drawing group were now assigned to the nondrawing group and vice versa. One, four, and six weeks after the experimental intervention, the students were given a free recall test and a questionnaire or drawing exercise, to determine the amount of knowledge retention. The data from this study showed that knowledge retention was significantly improved in the drawing groups compared with the nondrawing groups, even after four or six weeks. This suggests that actual drawing of histological images can be used as a tool to improve long-term knowledge retention. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Cognition and the Brain

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-25

by a by the distinctions between short-term and long-term sensory event. As evidence they shom that %khen the ISI memory ’. episodic , semantic and...Patterson. J.V. and Starr. A. I 19S9a) ams .1 function of variations in semantic citaceori,’itions. In: D. Brain potentials in a memory scanning task. 1...number) FIELD GROUP SUB-GROUP L ocalization of cognitive processes; alpha-band suppression; memory scanning for tones; silent speech; visual image

Intrusive images and voluntary memory for affective pictures: contextualization and dual-task interference.

PubMed

Krans, Julie; Langner, Oliver; Reinecke, Andrea; Pearson, David G

2013-12-01

The present study addressed the role of context information and dual-task interference during the encoding of negative pictures on intrusion development and voluntary recall. Healthy participants were shown negative pictures with or without context information. Pictures were either viewed alone or concurrently with a visuospatial or verbal task. Participants reported their intrusive images of the pictures in a diary. At follow-up, perceptual and contextual memory was tested. Participants in the context group reported more intrusive images and perceptual voluntary memory than participants in the no context group. No effects of the concurrent tasks were found on intrusive image frequency, but perceptual and contextual memory was affected according to the cognitive load of the task. The analogue method cannot be generalized to real-life trauma and the secondary tasks may differ in cognitive load. The findings challenge a dual memory model of PTSD but support an account in which retrieval strategy, rather than encoding processes, accounts for the experience of involuntary versus voluntary recall. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Surface defect detection in tiling Industries using digital image processing methods: analysis and evaluation.

PubMed

Karimi, Mohammad H; Asemani, Davud

2014-05-01

Ceramic and tile industries should indispensably include a grading stage to quantify the quality of products. Actually, human control systems are often used for grading purposes. An automatic grading system is essential to enhance the quality control and marketing of the products. Since there generally exist six different types of defects originating from various stages of tile manufacturing lines with distinct textures and morphologies, many image processing techniques have been proposed for defect detection. In this paper, a survey has been made on the pattern recognition and image processing algorithms which have been used to detect surface defects. Each method appears to be limited for detecting some subgroup of defects. The detection techniques may be divided into three main groups: statistical pattern recognition, feature vector extraction and texture/image classification. The methods such as wavelet transform, filtering, morphology and contourlet transform are more effective for pre-processing tasks. Others including statistical methods, neural networks and model-based algorithms can be applied to extract the surface defects. Although, statistical methods are often appropriate for identification of large defects such as Spots, but techniques such as wavelet processing provide an acceptable response for detection of small defects such as Pinhole. A thorough survey is made in this paper on the existing algorithms in each subgroup. Also, the evaluation parameters are discussed including supervised and unsupervised parameters. Using various performance parameters, different defect detection algorithms are compared and evaluated. Copyright © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical imaging guidelines part 4: challenges in identifying, engaging and collaborating with stakeholders.

PubMed

Bettmann, Michael A; Oikarinen, Helja; Rehani, Madan; Holmberg, Ola; del Rosario Perez, Maria; Naidoo, Anusha; Do, Kyung-Hyun; Dreyer, Keith; Ebdon-Jackson, Steve

2015-04-01

The effective development and use of clinical imaging guidelines requires an understanding of who the stakeholders are, what their interests in the process are, and what roles they should play. If the appropriate stakeholders are not engaged in the right roles, it is unlikely that clinical imaging guidelines will be successfully developed, relied on, and actually used. Some stakeholders are obvious: for the development of clinical imaging guidelines, both imagers and those who request examinations, such as general practitioners, internists, and medical specialists, must be involved. To gain acceptance, other relevant groups are stakeholders, including medical societies, other health care professionals, insurers, health IT experts and vendors, and patients. The role of stakeholders must be dictated by their specific interest. For some, involvement in the creation of guidelines is the right role. For others, such as regulators or insurers, reviews or invitations to comment are required, and for others, such as medical educators, it is probably sufficient to provide information and create awareness. Only through a careful consideration of who the stakeholders are and what are their interests are the successful development, acceptance, and use of clinical imaging guidelines likely to occur. Future efforts must focus on collaboration, particularly among groups that create clinical imaging guidelines and those that can support their use, and on regulatory roles and mandates. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cognitive-motivational model of obesity. Motivational mechanisms and cognitive biases underlying the processing of food-related images by people with excess body weight.

PubMed

Pawłowska, Monika; Kalka, Dorota

2015-01-01

Obesity is a constantly escalating problem in all age groups. In the face of ubiquitous images of food, colourful advertisements of high-calorie meals and beverages, it is necessary to examine the role of the memory and attention mechanism in the processing of these stimuli. Knowledge regarding this subject will surely significantly contribute to the improvement of prevention and management of obesity programs designed to prevent secondary psychological difficulties, including depression. This paper presents cognitive-motivational model of obesity, according to which the description of mechanisms of eating disorders occurrence should include not only motivational factors but also the cognitive ones. The paper shows theoretical perspectives on the problem of obesity irrespective of its origin, as well as the latest empirical reports in this field. The presented survey demonstrates the lack of explicit research findings related to the processing of high and low-calorie food images by persons with excess weight. It seems that the knowledge of the basic mechanisms involved in the processing of these stimuli and the exploration of this phenomenon will allow to improve programs whose objective is to prevent obesity.

Design of an integrated aerial image sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Jing; Spanos, Costas J.

2005-05-01

The subject of this paper is a novel integrated aerial image sensor (IAIS) system suitable for integration within the surface of an autonomous test wafer. The IAIS could be used as a lithography processing monitor, affording a "wafer's eye view" of the process, and therefore facilitating advanced process control and diagnostics without integrating (and dedicating) the sensor to the processing equipment. The IAIS is composed of an aperture mask and an array of photo-detectors. In order to retrieve nanometer scale resolution of the aerial image with a practical photo-detector pixel size, we propose a design of an aperture mask involving a series of spatial phase "moving" aperture groups. We demonstrate a design example aimed at the 65nm technology node through TEMPEST simulation. The optimized, key design parameters include an aperture width in the range of 30nm, aperture thickness in the range of 70nm, and offer a spatial resolution of about 5nm, all with comfortable fabrication tolerances. Our preliminary simulation work indicates the possibility of the IAIS being applied to the immersion lithography. A bench-top far-field experiment verifies that our approach of the spatial frequency down-shift through forming large Moire patterns is feasible.

Recognition of face and non-face stimuli in autistic spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Arkush, Leo; Smith-Collins, Adam P R; Fiorentini, Chiara; Skuse, David H

2013-12-01

The ability to remember faces is critical for the development of social competence. From childhood to adulthood, we acquire a high level of expertise in the recognition of facial images, and neural processes become dedicated to sustaining competence. Many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have poor face recognition memory; changes in hairstyle or other non-facial features in an otherwise familiar person affect their recollection skills. The observation implies that they may not use the configuration of the inner face to achieve memory competence, but bolster performance in other ways. We aimed to test this hypothesis by comparing the performance of a group of high-functioning unmedicated adolescents with ASD and a matched control group on a "surprise" face recognition memory task. We compared their memory for unfamiliar faces with their memory for images of houses. To evaluate the role that is played by peripheral cues in assisting recognition memory, we cropped both sets of pictures, retaining only the most salient central features. ASD adolescents had poorer recognition memory for faces than typical controls, but their recognition memory for houses was unimpaired. Cropping images of faces did not disproportionately influence their recall accuracy, relative to controls. House recognition skills (cropped and uncropped) were similar in both groups. In the ASD group only, performance on both sets of task was closely correlated, implying that memory for faces and other complex pictorial stimuli is achieved by domain-general (non-dedicated) cognitive mechanisms. Adolescents with ASD apparently do not use domain-specialized processing of inner facial cues to support face recognition memory. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Orthographic Stereo Correlator on the Terrain Model for Apollo Metric Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Taemin; Husmann, Kyle; Moratto, Zachary; Nefian, Ara V.

2011-01-01

A stereo correlation method on the object domain is proposed to generate the accurate and dense Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from lunar orbital imagery. The NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) aims to produce high-quality terrain reconstructions of the Moon from Apollo Metric Camera (AMC) data. In particular, IRG makes use of a stereo vision process, the Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP), to automatically generate DEMs from consecutive AMC image pairs. Given camera parameters of an image pair from bundle adjustment in ASP, a correlation window is defined on the terrain with the predefined surface normal of a post rather than image domain. The squared error of back-projected images on the local terrain is minimized with respect to the post elevation. This single dimensional optimization is solved efficiently and improves the accuracy of the elevation estimate.

Beyond where it started: a look at the "Healing Images" experience.

PubMed

Goodsmith, Lauren

2007-01-01

In March 2004, the Baltimore-based nonprofit organization Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (ASTT) initiated a photography-based therapeutic programme for clients. Developed by a professional photographer/teacher in collaboration with a psychologist, the programme has the goal of enabling clients to engage in creative self-exploration within a supportive, group setting. Since its inception, thirty survivors of conflict-related trauma and torture from five different countries have taken part in the programme, known as "Healing Images", using digital cameras to gather individually-chosen images that are subsequently shared and discussed within the group. These images include depictions of the natural and manmade environments in which clients find themselves; people, places and objects that offer comfort; and self-portraits that reflect the reality of the life of a refugee in the United States. This description of the "Healing Images" programme is based on comments gathered through discussion with participants and through interviews. Additional information was gathered from observation of early workshop sessions, review of numerous client photographs and captions, and pertinent organizational materials. A fundamental benefit of the programme was that it offered a mutually supportive group environment that diminished clients' feelings of psychological and physical isolation. Participants gained deep satisfaction from learning the technical skills related to use of the cameras, from the empowering experience of framing and creating specific images, and from exploring the personal significance of these images. Programme activities sparked a process of self-expression that participants valued on the level of personal discovery and growth. Some clients also welcomed opportunities to share their work publicly, as a means of raising awareness of the experience of survivors.

[Wish and reality in installation of a clinic-wide system for image and documentation access].

PubMed

Rau, W S; Schwabe, C

1999-04-01

This report describes the problems that can occur in the representation of the radiological workplace in a digital environment. On one hand the radiologist can sometimes access good equipment in "stand-alone" surroundings (CT, laser printer, workstations,...); on the other hand, the existing insufficient communication between different components is only rarely qualified to support the radiological workflow. This unsatisfactory framework handicaps the required clinic-wide distribution of radiological information. From the beginning we defined user groups requiring different radiological data closely associated with specific hard- and software: The radiological workstation in the department for reporting and image processing. The demonstration workstation in wards/outpatient departments for clinicians involved in treatment. Standard PCs with access to the digital medical document for clinicians involved in treatment. At all workstations the medical as well as the legal unity of digital radiological images and the corresponding report is ensured. Only the first two user groups have unrestricted access to the RIS database and to the PACS archive. We have decided that the RIS should be the master of the RIS/PACS-System. For an effective master/slave relationship between RIS and PACS archive and PACS workstations we suggest to mark images and/or series of images. The third user group depends on the information exported by the radiologist from PACS. After the report is written and signed by the radiologist, the digital report is transferred from the RIS to the HIS. The report is automatically attached to these images. Authorized personnel at the wards and outpatient are able to read the combination of validated report and exported radiological images as part of the digital medical record with an intranet browser on standard PCs.

Presymptomatic and longitudinal neuroimaging in neurodegeneration--from snapshots to motion picture: a systematic review.

PubMed

Schuster, Christina; Elamin, Marwa; Hardiman, Orla; Bede, Peter

2015-10-01

Recent quantitative neuroimaging studies have been successful in capturing phenotype and genotype-specific changes in dementia syndromes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. However, the majority of imaging studies are cross-sectional, despite the obvious superiority of longitudinal study designs in characterising disease trajectories, response to therapy, progression rates and evaluating the presymptomatic phase of neurodegenerative conditions. The aim of this work is to perform a systematic review of longitudinal imaging initiatives in neurodegeneration focusing on methodology, optimal statistical models, follow-up intervals, attrition rates, primary study outcomes and presymptomatic studies. Longitudinal imaging studies were identified from 'PubMed' and reviewed from 1990 to 2014. The search terms 'longitudinal', 'MRI', 'presymptomatic' and 'imaging' were utilised in combination with one of the following degenerative conditions; Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease, frontotemporal dementia, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, ataxia, HIV, alcohol abuse/dependence. A total of 423 longitudinal imaging papers and 103 genotype-based presymptomatic studies were identified and systematically reviewed. Imaging techniques, follow-up intervals and attrition rates showed significant variation depending on the primary diagnosis. Commonly used statistical models included analysis of annualised percentage change, mixed and random effect models, and non-linear cumulative models with acceleration-deceleration components. Although longitudinal imaging studies have the potential to provide crucial insights into the presymptomatic phase and natural trajectory of neurodegenerative processes a standardised design is required to enable meaningful data interpretation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Utility of Readout-Segmented Echo-Planar Imaging-Based Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging for Differentiating Malignant from Benign Masses in Head and Neck Region.

PubMed

Ma, Gao; Xu, Xiao-Quan; Hu, Hao; Su, Guo-Yi; Shen, Jie; Shi, Hai-Bin; Wu, Fei-Yun

2018-01-01

To compare the diagnostic performance of readout-segmented echo-planar imaging (RS-EPI)-based diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and that of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for differentiating malignant from benign masses in head and neck region. Between December 2014 and April 2016, we retrospectively enrolled 72 consecutive patients with head and neck masses who had undergone RS-EPI-based DKI scan (b value of 0, 500, 1000, and 1500 s/mm 2 ) for pretreatment evaluation. Imaging data were post-processed by using monoexponential and diffusion kurtosis (DK) model for quantitation of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), apparent diffusion for Gaussian distribution (D app ), and apparent kurtosis coefficient (K app ). Unpaired t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare differences of quantitative parameters between malignant and benign groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to determine and compare the diagnostic ability of quantitative parameters in predicting malignancy. Malignant group demonstrated significantly lower ADC (0.754 ± 0.167 vs. 1.222 ± 0.420, p < 0.001) and D app (1.029 ± 0.226 vs. 1.640 ± 0.445, p < 0.001) while higher K app (1.344 ± 0.309 vs. 0.715 ± 0.249, p < 0.001) than benign group. Using a combination of D app and K app as diagnostic index, significantly better differentiating performance was achieved than using ADC alone (area under curve: 0.956 vs. 0.876, p = 0.042). Compared to DWI, DKI could provide additional data related to tumor heterogeneity with significantly better differentiating performance. Its derived quantitative metrics could serve as a promising imaging biomarker for differentiating malignant from benign masses in head and neck region.

Longitudinal Processing Speed Impairments in Males with Autism and the Effects of White Matter Microstructure

PubMed Central

Travers, Brittany G.; Bigler, Erin D.; Tromp, Do P. M.; Adluru, Nagesh; Froehlich, Alyson L.; Ennis, Chad; Lange, Nicholas; Nielsen, Jared A.; Prigge, Molly B. D.; Alexander, Andrew L.; Lainhart, Janet E.

2014-01-01

The present study used an accelerated longitudinal design to examine group differences and age-related changes in processing speed in 81 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to 56 age-matched individuals with typical development (ages 6–39 years). Processing speed was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-3rd edition (WISC-III) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-3rd edition (WAIS-III). Follow-up analyses examined processing speed subtest performance and relations between processing speed and white matter microstructure (as measured with diffusion tensor imaging [DTI] in a subset of these participants). After controlling for full scale IQ, the present results show that processing speed index standard scores were on average 12 points lower in the group with ASD compared to the group with typical development. There were, however, no significant group differences in standard score age-related changes within this age range. For subtest raw scores, the group with ASD demonstrated robustly slower processing speeds in the adult versions of the IQ test (i.e., WAIS-III) but not in the child versions (WISC-III), even though age-related changes were similar in both the ASD and typically developing groups. This pattern of results may reflect difficulties that become increasingly evident in ASD on more complex measures of processing speed. Finally, DTI measures of whole-brain white matter microstructure suggested that fractional anisotropy (but not mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity, or axial diffusivity) made significant but small-sized contributions to processing speed standard scores across our entire sample. Taken together, the present findings suggest that robust decreases in processing speed may be present in ASD, more pronounced in adulthood, and partially attributable to white matter microstructural integrity. PMID:24269298

Micro-MRI-based image acquisition and processing system for assessing the response to therapeutic intervention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasilić, B.; Ladinsky, G. A.; Saha, P. K.; Wehrli, F. W.

2006-03-01

Osteoporosis is the cause of over 1.5 million bone fractures annually. Most of these fractures occur in sites rich in trabecular bone, a complex network of bony struts and plates found throughout the skeleton. The three-dimensional structure of the trabecular bone network significantly determines mechanical strength and thus fracture resistance. Here we present a data acquisition and processing system that allows efficient noninvasive assessment of trabecular bone structure through a "virtual bone biopsy". High-resolution MR images are acquired from which the trabecular bone network is extracted by estimating the partial bone occupancy of each voxel. A heuristic voxel subdivision increases the effective resolution of the bone volume fraction map and serves a basis for subsequent analysis of topological and orientational parameters. Semi-automated registration and segmentation ensure selection of the same anatomical location in subjects imaged at different time points during treatment. It is shown with excerpts from an ongoing clinical study of early post-menopausal women, that significant reduction in network connectivity occurs in the control group while the structural integrity is maintained in the hormone replacement group. The system described should be suited for large-scale studies designed to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic intervention in subjects with metabolic bone disease.

Can interpersonal hypersensitivity under subconscious condition explain paranoid symptom in schizophrenia?

PubMed

Zhu, Yikang; Yang, Zhi; Zhao, Jinping; Li, Ting; Wang, Meijuan; Qian, Jie; Jiang, Yi; Wang, Jijun; Weng, Xuchu; Yu, Dehua; Li, Chunbo

2017-06-01

Interpersonal hypersensitivity is often observed in schizophrenia and has been associated with psychopathological deficits in schizophrenia. Here, we investigated dysfunctions of interpersonal information processing in schizophrenia at both conscious and subconscious levels. The experiment included 143 schizophrenia patients and 59 healthy controls. A continuous flashing suppression approach based on binocular rivalry was employed, which included two modes: invisible (subconscious) and visible (conscious). The accuracy and reaction time of a Gabor patch direction-detection task were assessed under three types of stimuli in both modes: images with no person (type 1), images with two to three noncommunicating persons (type 2), and images with more than three communicating individuals (type 3). In the visible mode, the accuracy of the Gabor patch direction-detection task in the case group was significantly lower than in the control group for the third type of stimuli (P = 0.015). In the invisible mode, however, the accuracy was higher in the case group than in the control group (P = 0.037). The response time difference of the Gabor patch direction-detection task for the third type of images in the invisible mode was negatively correlated with the duration of the illness (P = 0.008). These findings suggest that schizophrenia patients exhibit attentional bias to interpersonal interaction behaviors at both conscious and subliminal levels but toward opposite directions. Our findings shed light on the subconscious deficits under the paranoid symptom in schizophrenia. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Detecting airway remodeling in COPD and emphysema using low-dose CT imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudyanto, R.; Ceresa, M.; Muñoz-Barrutia, A.; Ortiz-de-Solorzano, C.

2012-03-01

In this study, we quantitatively characterize lung airway remodeling caused by smoking-related emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), in low-dose CT scans. To that end, we established three groups of individuals: subjects with COPD (n=35), subjects with emphysema (n=38) and healthy smokers (n=28). All individuals underwent a low-dose CT scan, and the images were analyzed as described next. First the lung airways were segmented using a fast marching method and labeled according to its generation. Along each airway segment, cross-section images were resampled orthogonal to the airway axis. Next 128 rays were cast from the center of the airway lumen in each crosssection slice. Finally, we used an integral-based method, to measure lumen radius, wall thickness, mean wall percentage and mean peak wall attenuation on every cast ray. Our analysis shows that both the mean global wall thickness and the lumen radius of the airways of both COPD and emphysema groups were significantly different from those of the healthy group. In addition, the wall thickness change starts at the 3rd airway generation in the COPD patients compared with emphysema patients, who display the first significant changes starting in the 2nd generation. In conclusion, it is shown that airway remodeling happens in individuals suffering from either COPD or emphysema, with some local difference between both groups, and that we are able to detect and accurately quantify this process using images of low-dose CT scans.

Thermal imaging as a smartphone application: exploring and implementing a new concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanai, Omer

2014-06-01

Today's world is going mobile. Smartphone devices have become an important part of everyday life for billions of people around the globe. Thermal imaging cameras have been around for half a century and are now making their way into our daily lives. Originally built for military applications, thermal cameras are starting to be considered for personal use, enabling enhanced vision and temperature mapping for different groups of professional individuals. Through a revolutionary concept that turns smartphones into fully functional thermal cameras, we have explored how these two worlds can converge by utilizing the best of each technology. We will present the thought process, design considerations and outcome of our development process, resulting in a low-power, high resolution, lightweight USB thermal imaging device that turns Android smartphones into thermal cameras. We will discuss the technological challenges that we faced during the development of the product, and what are the system design decisions taken during the implementation. We will provide some insights we came across during this development process. Finally, we will discuss the opportunities that this innovative technology brings to the market.

DDGIPS: a general image processing system in robot vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Yuan; Ying, Jun; Ye, Xiuqing; Gu, Weikang

2000-10-01

Real-Time Image Processing is the key work in robot vision. With the limitation of the hardware technique, many algorithm-oriented firmware systems were designed in the past. But their architectures were not flexible enough to achieve a multi-algorithm development system. Because of the rapid development of microelectronics technique, many high performance DSP chips and high density FPGA chips have come to life, and this makes it possible to construct a more flexible architecture in real-time image processing system. In this paper, a Double DSP General Image Processing System (DDGIPS) is concerned. We try to construct a two-DSP-based FPGA-computational system with two TMS320C6201s. The TMS320C6x devices are fixed-point processors based on the advanced VLIW CPU, which has eight functional units, including two multipliers and six arithmetic logic units. These features make C6x a good candidate for a general purpose system. In our system, the two TMS320C6201s each has a local memory space, and they also have a shared system memory space which enables them to intercommunicate and exchange data efficiently. At the same time, they can be directly inter-connected in star-shaped architecture. All of these are under the control of a FPGA group. As the core of the system, FPGA plays a very important role: it takes charge of DPS control, DSP communication, memory space access arbitration and the communication between the system and the host machine. And taking advantage of reconfiguring FPGA, all of the interconnection between the two DSP or between DSP and FPGA can be changed. In this way, users can easily rebuild the real-time image processing system according to the data stream and the task of the application and gain great flexibility.

DDGIPS: a general image processing system in robot vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Yuan; Ying, Jun; Ye, Xiuqing; Gu, Weikang

2000-10-01

Real-Time Image Processing is the key work in robot vision. With the limitation of the hardware technique, many algorithm-oriented firmware systems were designed in the past. But their architectures were not flexible enough to achieve a multi- algorithm development system. Because of the rapid development of microelectronics technique, many high performance DSP chips and high density FPGA chips have come to life, and this makes it possible to construct a more flexible architecture in real-time image processing system. In this paper, a Double DSP General Image Processing System (DDGIPS) is concerned. We try to construct a two-DSP-based FPGA-computational system with two TMS320C6201s. The TMS320C6x devices are fixed-point processors based on the advanced VLIW CPU, which has eight functional units, including two multipliers and six arithmetic logic units. These features make C6x a good candidate for a general purpose system. In our system, the two TMS320C6210s each has a local memory space, and they also have a shared system memory space which enable them to intercommunicate and exchange data efficiently. At the same time, they can be directly interconnected in star- shaped architecture. All of these are under the control of FPGA group. As the core of the system, FPGA plays a very important role: it takes charge of DPS control, DSP communication, memory space access arbitration and the communication between the system and the host machine. And taking advantage of reconfiguring FPGA, all of the interconnection between the two DSP or between DSP and FPGA can be changed. In this way, users can easily rebuild the real-time image processing system according to the data stream and the task of the application and gain great flexibility.

Usefulness of tissue autofluorescence imaging in actinic cheilitis diagnosis.

PubMed

Takahama Junior, Ademar; Kurachi, Cristina; Cosci, Alessandro; Pereira Faustino, Isabel Schausltz; Camisasca, Danielle Resende; da Costa Fontes, Karla Bianca Fernandes; Pires, Fábio Ramôa; Azevedo, Rebeca Souza

2013-07-01

Actinic cheilitis (AC) is a potentially malignant disorder of the lips. Because of its heterogeneous clinical aspect, it is difficult to indicate representative biopsy area. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of tissue autofluorescence in AC diagnosis. The system was composed of a 405-nm light-emitting diode, sent to the sample by a dichroic, that allows the fluorescence signal to reach a camera directly plugged in the system. Fifty-seven patients with clinical diagnosis of AC and 45 normal volunteers were selected. According to clinical and fluorescence features, one or more areas were selected for biopsies in the AC group and epithelial dysplasia (ED) grades were established. The autofluorescence images were processed by a clustering algorithm for AC automated diagnosis. The tissue autofluorescence image revealed a heterogeneous pattern of loss and increase of fluorescence in patients with AC. ED was found in 93% of the cases, and most of the areas graded as moderate or severe ED were chosen with the aid of autofluorescence. The processed autofluorescence images from AC patients showed a higher number of spots in an irregular pattern. Tissue autofluorescence image system is a useful technique in association with clinical examination for AC diagnosis.

Classifying Physical Morphology of Cocoa Beans Digital Images using Multiclass Ensemble Least-Squares Support Vector Machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawi, Armin; Adhitya, Yudhi

2018-03-01

The objective of this research is to determine the quality of cocoa beans through morphology of their digital images. Samples of cocoa beans were scattered on a bright white paper under a controlled lighting condition. A compact digital camera was used to capture the images. The images were then processed to extract their morphological parameters. Classification process begins with an analysis of cocoa beans image based on morphological feature extraction. Parameters for extraction of morphological or physical feature parameters, i.e., Area, Perimeter, Major Axis Length, Minor Axis Length, Aspect Ratio, Circularity, Roundness, Ferret Diameter. The cocoa beans are classified into 4 groups, i.e.: Normal Beans, Broken Beans, Fractured Beans, and Skin Damaged Beans. The model of classification used in this paper is the Multiclass Ensemble Least-Squares Support Vector Machine (MELS-SVM), a proposed improvement model of SVM using ensemble method in which the separate hyperplanes are obtained by least square approach and the multiclass procedure uses One-Against- All method. The result of our proposed model showed that the classification with morphological feature input parameters were accurately as 99.705% for the four classes, respectively.

ALFALFA and WSRT Imaging of Extended H I Features in the Leo Cloud of Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leisman, Lukas; Haynes, Martha P.; Giovanelli, Riccardo; Józsa, Gyula; Adams, Elizabeth A. K.; Hess, Kelley M.

2016-12-01

We present Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) H I observations of a well-studied region of the Leo Cloud, which includes the NGC 3227 group and the NGC 3190 group. We detect optically dark H I tails and plumes with extents potentially exceeding 600 kpc, well beyond the field of view of previous observations. These H I features contain ˜40 per cent of the total H I mass in the NGC 3227 group and ˜10 per cent of the NGC 3190 group. We also present Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) maps which show the complex morphology of the extended emission in the NGC 3227 group. We comment on previously proposed models of the interactions in these groups and the implications for the scale of group processing through interactions. Motivated by the extent of the H I plumes, we place the H I observations in the context of the larger loose group, demonstrating the need for future sensitive, wide field H I surveys to understand the role of group processing in galaxy evolution.

Visual attention to food cues in obesity: an eye-tracking study.

PubMed

Doolan, Katy J; Breslin, Gavin; Hanna, Donncha; Murphy, Kate; Gallagher, Alison M

2014-12-01

Based on the theory of incentive sensitization, the aim of this study was to investigate differences in attentional processing of food-related visual cues between normal-weight and overweight/obese males and females. Twenty-six normal-weight (14M, 12F) and 26 overweight/obese (14M, 12F) adults completed a visual probe task and an eye-tracking paradigm. Reaction times and eye movements to food and control images were collected during both a fasted and fed condition in a counterbalanced design. Participants had greater visual attention towards high-energy-density food images compared to low-energy-density food images regardless of hunger condition. This was most pronounced in overweight/obese males who had significantly greater maintained attention towards high-energy-density food images when compared with their normal-weight counterparts however no between weight group differences were observed for female participants. High-energy-density food images appear to capture visual attention more readily than low-energy-density food images. Results also suggest the possibility of an altered visual food cue-associated reward system in overweight/obese males. Attentional processing of food cues may play a role in eating behaviors thus should be taken into consideration as part of an integrated approach to curbing obesity. © 2014 The Obesity Society.

There's that scary picture: attention bias to threatening scenes in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Dodd, Helen F; Porter, Melanie A

2011-01-01

There is increasing evidence that Williams syndrome (WS) is associated with elevated anxiety that is non-social in nature, including generalised anxiety and fears. To date very little research has examined the cognitive processes associated with this anxiety. In the present research, attentional bias for non-social threatening images in WS was examined using a dot-probe paradigm. Participants were 16 individuals with WS aged between 13 and 34 years and two groups of typically developing controls matched to the WS group on chronological age and attentional control ability, respectively. The WS group exhibited a significant attention bias towards threatening images. In contrast, no bias was found for group matched on attentional control and a slight bias away from threat was found in the chronological age matched group. The results are contrasted with recent findings suggesting that individuals with WS do not show an attention bias for threatening faces and discussed in relation to neuroimaging research showing elevated amygdala activation in response to threatening non-social scenes in WS. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Activities of the Remote Sensing Information Sciences Research Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, J. E.; Botkin, D.; Peuquet, D.; Smith, T.; Star, J. L. (Principal Investigator)

1984-01-01

Topics on the analysis and processing of remotely sensed data in the areas of vegetation analysis and modelling, georeferenced information systems, machine assisted information extraction from image data, and artificial intelligence are investigated. Discussions on support field data and specific applications of the proposed technologies are also included.

White Matter Integrity and Pictorial Reasoning in High-Functioning Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahyoun, Cherif P.; Belliveau, John W.; Mody, Maria

2010-01-01

The current study investigated the neurobiological role of white matter in visuospatial versus linguistic processing abilities in autism using diffusion tensor imaging. We examined differences in white matter integrity between high-functioning children with autism (HFA) and typically developing controls (CTRL), in relation to the groups' response…

Atlas-based segmentation of brainstem regions in neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puigvert, Marc; Castellanos, Gabriel; Uranga, Javier; Abad, Ricardo; Fernández-Seara, María. A.; Pastor, Pau; Pastor, María. A.; Muñoz-Barrutia, Arrate; Ortiz de Solórzano, Carlos

2015-03-01

We present a method for the automatic delineation of two neuromelanin rich brainstem structures -substantia nigra pars compacta (SN) and locus coeruleus (LC)- in neuromelanin sensitive magnetic resonance images of the brain. The segmentation method uses a dynamic multi-image reference atlas and a pre-registration atlas selection strategy. To create the atlas, a pool of 35 images of healthy subjects was pair-wise pre-registered and clustered in groups using an affinity propagation approach. Each group of the atlas is represented by a single exemplar image. Each new target image to be segmented is registered to the exemplars of each cluster. Then all the images of the highest performing clusters are enrolled into the final atlas, and the results of the registration with the target image are propagated using a majority voting approach. All registration processes used combined one two-stage affine and one elastic B-spline algorithm, to account for global positioning, region selection and local anatomic differences. In this paper, we present the algorithm, with emphasis in the atlas selection method and the registration scheme. We evaluate the performance of the atlas selection strategy using 35 healthy subjects and 5 Parkinson's disease patients. Then, we quantified the volume and contrast ratio of neuromelanin signal of these structures in 47 normal subjects and 40 Parkinson's disease patients to confirm that this method can detect neuromelanin-containing neurons loss in Parkinson's disease patients and could eventually be used for the early detection of SN and LC damage.

An initial investigation into the validity of a computer-based auditory processing assessment (Feather Squadron).

PubMed

Barker, Matthew D; Purdy, Suzanne C

2016-01-01

This research investigates a novel method for identifying and measuring school-aged children with poor auditory processing through a tablet computer. Feasibility and test-retest reliability are investigated by examining the percentage of Group 1 participants able to complete the tasks and developmental effects on performance. Concurrent validity was investigated against traditional tests of auditory processing using Group 2. There were 847 students aged 5 to 13 years in group 1, and 46 aged 5 to 14 years in group 2. Some tasks could not be completed by the youngest participants. Significant correlations were found between results of most auditory processing areas assessed by the Feather Squadron test and traditional auditory processing tests. Test-retest comparisons indicated good reliability for most of the Feather Squadron assessments and some of the traditional tests. The results indicate the Feather Squadron assessment is a time-efficient, feasible, concurrently valid, and reliable approach for measuring auditory processing in school-aged children. Clinically, this may be a useful option for audiologists when performing auditory processing assessments as it is a relatively fast, engaging, and easy way to assess auditory processing abilities. Research is needed to investigate further the construct validity of this new assessment by examining the association between performance on Feather Squadron and objective evoked potential, lesion studies, and/or functional imaging measures of auditory function.

Development of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) techniques in New Zealand: Array simulation, image synthesis and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weston, S. D.

2008-04-01

This thesis presents the design and development of a process to model Very Long Base Line Interferometry (VLBI) aperture synthesis antenna arrays. In line with the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Institute for Radiophysics and Space Research (IRSR) aims to develop the knowledge, skills and experience within New Zealand, extensive use of existing radio astronomical software has been incorporated into the process namely AIPS (Astronomical Imaging Processing System), MIRIAD (a radio interferometry data reduction package) and DIFMAP (a program for synthesis imaging of visibility data from interferometer arrays of radio telescopes). This process has been used to model various antenna array configurations for two proposed New Zealand sites for antenna in a VLBI array configuration with existing Australian facilities and a passable antenna at Scott Base in Antarctica; and the results are presented in an attempt to demonstrate the improvement to be gained by joint trans-Tasman VLBI observation. It is hoped these results and process will assist the planning and placement of proposed New Zealand radio telescopes for cooperation with groups such as the Australian Long Baseline Array (LBA), others in the Pacific Rim and possibly globally; also potential future involvement of New Zealand with the SKA. The developed process has also been used to model a phased building schedule for the SKA in Australia and the addition of two antennas in New Zealand. This has been presented to the wider astronomical community via the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand Journal, and is summarized in this thesis with some additional material. A new measure of quality ("figure of merit") for comparing the original model image and final CLEAN images by utilizing normalized 2-D cross correlation is evaluated as an alternative to the existing subjective visual operator image comparison undertaken to date by other groups. This new unit of measure is then used ! in the presentation of the results to provide a quantative comparison of the different array configurations modelled. Included in the process is the development of a new antenna array visibility program which was based on a Perl code script written by Prof Steven Tingay to plot antenna visibilities for the Australian Square Kilometre Array (SKA) proposal. This has been expanded and improved removing the hard coded fixed assumptions for the SKA configuration, providing a new useful and flexible program for the wider astronomical community. A prototype user interface using html/cgi/perl was developed for the process so that the underlying software packages can be served over the web to a user via an internet browser. This was used to demonstrate how easy it is to provide a friendlier interface compared to the existing cumbersome and difficult command line driven interfaces (although the command line can be retained for more experienced users).

Facile synthesis of a two-photon fluorescent probe based on pyrimidine 2-isothiocyanate and its application in bioimaging.

PubMed

Yang, Jie; Hu, Wei; Li, Huirong; Hou, Hanna; Tu, Yi; Liu, Bo

2018-04-18

Two-photon microscopy imaging has been widely applied in biological imaging, but the development of two-photon absorption probes is obviously lagging behind in the development of imaging technology. In this paper, a two-photon fluorescent probe (1) based on pyrimidine 2-isothiocyanate has been designed and synthesized through a simple method for two-photon biological imaging. Probe 1 was able to couple effectively with the amino groups on biomolecules. To verify the reactivity of the isothiocyanate group on probe 1 and the amine groups on the biomolecules, d-glucosamine was chosen as a model biomolecule to conjugate with probe 1. The result showed that probe 1 could effectively conjugate with d-glucosamine to synthesize probe 2, and the yield of probe 2 was 83%. After conjugating with d-glucosamine, linear absorption spectra, single-photon fluorescence spectra, and two-photon fluorescence spectra of probes 1 and 2 did not present significant changes. Probes 1 and 2 exhibited high fluorescence quantum yields (0.71-0.79) in toluene and chloroform. They also exhibited different photo-physical properties in solvents with different polarities. The two-photon absorption cross-section of probe 1 was 953 GM in toluene. In addition, probe 1 could be effectively conjugated with transferrin, and the conjugated probe (Tf-1) could be transported into Hep G2 cells through a receptor-mediated process for biological imaging. These results demonstrate that such probes are expected to have great potential applications in two-photon fluorescence bioimaging.

Image quality and dose differences caused by vendor-specific image processing of neonatal radiographs.

PubMed

Sensakovic, William F; O'Dell, M Cody; Letter, Haley; Kohler, Nathan; Rop, Baiywo; Cook, Jane; Logsdon, Gregory; Varich, Laura

2016-10-01

Image processing plays an important role in optimizing image quality and radiation dose in projection radiography. Unfortunately commercial algorithms are black boxes that are often left at or near vendor default settings rather than being optimized. We hypothesize that different commercial image-processing systems, when left at or near default settings, create significant differences in image quality. We further hypothesize that image-quality differences can be exploited to produce images of equivalent quality but lower radiation dose. We used a portable radiography system to acquire images on a neonatal chest phantom and recorded the entrance surface air kerma (ESAK). We applied two image-processing systems (Optima XR220amx, by GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI; and MUSICA(2) by Agfa HealthCare, Mortsel, Belgium) to the images. Seven observers (attending pediatric radiologists and radiology residents) independently assessed image quality using two methods: rating and matching. Image-quality ratings were independently assessed by each observer on a 10-point scale. Matching consisted of each observer matching GE-processed images and Agfa-processed images with equivalent image quality. A total of 210 rating tasks and 42 matching tasks were performed and effective dose was estimated. Median Agfa-processed image-quality ratings were higher than GE-processed ratings. Non-diagnostic ratings were seen over a wider range of doses for GE-processed images than for Agfa-processed images. During matching tasks, observers matched image quality between GE-processed images and Agfa-processed images acquired at a lower effective dose (11 ± 9 μSv; P < 0.0001). Image-processing methods significantly impact perceived image quality. These image-quality differences can be exploited to alter protocols and produce images of equivalent image quality but lower doses. Those purchasing projection radiography systems or third-party image-processing software should be aware that image processing can significantly impact image quality when settings are left near default values.

Nondestructive Evaluation Technology Working Group Report (IDA/OSD R&M (Institute for Defense Analyses/Office of the Secretary of Defense Reliability and Maintainability Study).

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-01

evaluating surface residual stresses in ferromagnetic materials, but until recently has - been considered too time consuming for production application. Fast...generic residual stress , X-ray, image processing, neutron processing, neutron radiography, vibrothermography, nuclear magnetic resonance 20. ABSTRACT...studied, this technology study effort would not have been possible within the time and resources available. P-3 i La

Sentence comprehension in autism: thinking in pictures with decreased functional connectivity

PubMed Central

Kana, Rajesh K.; Keller, Timothy A.; Cherkassky, Vladimir L.; Minshew, Nancy J.; Just, Marcel Adam

2015-01-01

Comprehending high-imagery sentences like The number eight when rotated 90 degrees looks like a pair of eyeglasses involves the participation and integration of several cortical regions. The linguistic content must be processed to determine what is to be mentally imaged, and then the mental image must be evaluated and related to the sentence. A theory of cortical underconnectivity in autism predicts that the interregional collaboration required between linguistic and imaginal processing in this task would be underserved in autism. This functional MRI study examined brain activation in 12 participants with autism and 13 age- and IQ-matched control participants while they processed sentences with either high- or low-imagery content. The analysis of functional connectivity among cortical regions showed that the language and spatial centres in the participants with autism were not as well synchronized as in controls. In addition to the functional connectivity differences, there was also a group difference in activation. In the processing of low-imagery sentences (e.g. Addition, subtraction and multiplication are all math skills), the use of imagery is not essential to comprehension. Nevertheless, the autism group activated parietal and occipital brain regions associated with imagery for comprehending both the low and high-imagery sentences, suggesting that they were using mental imagery in both conditions. In contrast, the control group showed imagery-related activation primarily in the high-imagery condition. The findings provide further evidence of underintegration of language and imagery in autism (and hence expand the understanding of underconnectivity) but also show that people with autism are more reliant on visualization to support language comprehension. PMID:16835247

Combined Use of Automatic Tube Voltage Selection and Current Modulation with Iterative Reconstruction for CT Evaluation of Small Hypervascular Hepatocellular Carcinomas: Effect on Lesion Conspicuity and Image Quality

PubMed Central

Lv, Peijie; Liu, Jie; Zhang, Rui; Jia, Yan

2015-01-01

Objective To assess the lesion conspicuity and image quality in CT evaluation of small (≤ 3 cm) hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) using automatic tube voltage selection (ATVS) and automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) with or without iterative reconstruction. Materials and Methods One hundred and five patients with 123 HCC lesions were included. Fifty-seven patients were scanned using both ATVS and ATCM and images were reconstructed using either filtered back-projection (FBP) (group A1) or sinogram-affirmed iterative reconstruction (SAFIRE) (group A2). Forty-eight patients were imaged using only ATCM, with a fixed tube potential of 120 kVp and FBP reconstruction (group B). Quantitative parameters (image noise in Hounsfield unit and contrast-to-noise ratio of the aorta, the liver, and the hepatic tumors) and qualitative visual parameters (image noise, overall image quality, and lesion conspicuity as graded on a 5-point scale) were compared among the groups. Results Group A2 scanned with the automatically chosen 80 kVp and 100 kVp tube voltages ranked the best in lesion conspicuity and subjective and objective image quality (p values ranging from < 0.001 to 0.004) among the three groups, except for overall image quality between group A2 and group B (p = 0.022). Group A1 showed higher image noise (p = 0.005) but similar lesion conspicuity and overall image quality as compared with group B. The radiation dose in group A was 19% lower than that in group B (p = 0.022). Conclusion CT scanning with combined use of ATVS and ATCM and image reconstruction with SAFIRE algorithm provides higher lesion conspicuity and better image quality for evaluating small hepatic HCCs with radiation dose reduction. PMID:25995682

A Parallel Point Matching Algorithm for Landmark Based Image Registration Using Multicore Platform

PubMed Central

Yang, Lin; Gong, Leiguang; Zhang, Hong; Nosher, John L.; Foran, David J.

2013-01-01

Point matching is crucial for many computer vision applications. Establishing the correspondence between a large number of data points is a computationally intensive process. Some point matching related applications, such as medical image registration, require real time or near real time performance if applied to critical clinical applications like image assisted surgery. In this paper, we report a new multicore platform based parallel algorithm for fast point matching in the context of landmark based medical image registration. We introduced a non-regular data partition algorithm which utilizes the K-means clustering algorithm to group the landmarks based on the number of available processing cores, which optimize the memory usage and data transfer. We have tested our method using the IBM Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.) platform. The results demonstrated a significant speed up over its sequential implementation. The proposed data partition and parallelization algorithm, though tested only on one multicore platform, is generic by its design. Therefore the parallel algorithm can be extended to other computing platforms, as well as other point matching related applications. PMID:24308014

Characterizing canopy biochemistry from imaging spectroscopy and its application to ecosystem studies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kokaly, R.F.; Asner, Gregory P.; Ollinger, S.V.; Martin, M.E.; Wessman, C.A.

2009-01-01

For two decades, remotely sensed data from imaging spectrometers have been used to estimate non-pigment biochemical constituents of vegetation, including water, nitrogen, cellulose, and lignin. This interest has been motivated by the important role that these substances play in physiological processes such as photosynthesis, their relationships with ecosystem processes such as litter decomposition and nutrient cycling, and their use in identifying key plant species and functional groups. This paper reviews three areas of research to improve the application of imaging spectrometers to quantify non-pigment biochemical constituents of plants. First, we examine recent empirical and modeling studies that have advanced our understanding of leaf and canopy reflectance spectra in relation to plant biochemistry. Next, we present recent examples of how spectroscopic remote sensing methods are applied to characterize vegetation canopies, communities and ecosystems. Third, we highlight the latest developments in using imaging spectrometer data to quantify net primary production (NPP) over large geographic areas. Finally, we discuss the major challenges in quantifying non-pigment biochemical constituents of plant canopies from remotely sensed spectra.

A Protocol for Using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-force Biosensors to Measure Mechanical Forces across the Nuclear LINC Complex.

PubMed

Arsenovic, Paul T; Bathula, Kranthidhar; Conway, Daniel E

2017-04-11

The LINC complex has been hypothesized to be the critical structure that mediates the transfer of mechanical forces from the cytoskeleton to the nucleus. Nesprin-2G is a key component of the LINC complex that connects the actin cytoskeleton to membrane proteins (SUN domain proteins) in the perinuclear space. These membrane proteins connect to lamins inside the nucleus. Recently, a Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-force probe was cloned into mini-Nesprin-2G (Nesprin-TS (tension sensor)) and used to measure tension across Nesprin-2G in live NIH3T3 fibroblasts. This paper describes the process of using Nesprin-TS to measure LINC complex forces in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. To extract FRET information from Nesprin-TS, an outline of how to spectrally unmix raw spectral images into acceptor and donor fluorescent channels is also presented. Using open-source software (ImageJ), images are pre-processed and transformed into ratiometric images. Finally, FRET data of Nesprin-TS is presented, along with strategies for how to compare data across different experimental groups.

Emotional face processing and flat affect in schizophrenia: functional and structural neural correlates.

PubMed

Lepage, M; Sergerie, K; Benoit, A; Czechowska, Y; Dickie, E; Armony, J L

2011-09-01

There is a general consensus in the literature that schizophrenia causes difficulties with facial emotion perception and discrimination. Functional brain imaging studies have observed reduced limbic activity during facial emotion perception but few studies have examined the relation to flat affect severity. A total of 26 people with schizophrenia and 26 healthy controls took part in this event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Sad, happy and neutral faces were presented in a pseudo-random order and participants indicated the gender of the face presented. Manual segmentation of the amygdala was performed on a structural T1 image. Both the schizophrenia group and the healthy control group rated the emotional valence of facial expressions similarly. Both groups exhibited increased brain activity during the perception of emotional faces relative to neutral ones in multiple brain regions, including multiple prefrontal regions bilaterally, the right amygdala, right cingulate cortex and cuneus. Group comparisons, however, revealed increased activity in the healthy group in the anterior cingulate, right parahippocampal gyrus and multiple visual areas. In schizophrenia, the severity of flat affect correlated significantly with neural activity in several brain areas including the amygdala and parahippocampal region bilaterally. These results suggest that many of the brain regions involved in emotional face perception, including the amygdala, are equally recruited in both schizophrenia and controls, but flat affect can also moderate activity in some other brain regions, notably in the left amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus bilaterally. There were no significant group differences in the volume of the amygdala.

Pretreatment Blood Brain Barrier Damage and Post Treatment Intracranial Hemorrhage in Patients Receiving IV tPA

PubMed Central

Leigh, Richard; Jen, Shyian S.; Hillis, Argye E.; Krakauer, John W.; Barker, Peter B.

2014-01-01

Background and Purpose Early blood brain barrier (BBB) damage after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) has previously been qualitatively linked to subsequent intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). In this quantitative study, it was investigated whether the amount of BBB damage evident on pre-tPA MRI scans was related to the degree of post-tPA ICH in patients with AIS. Methods Analysis was performed on a database of patients with AIS provided by the STIR and VISTA Imaging Investigators. Patients with perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) lesions >10mL and negative gradient-recalled echo (GRE) imaging prior to IV tPA were included. Post processing of the PWI source images was performed to estimate changes in BBB permeability within the perfusion deficit relative to the unaffected hemisphere. Follow-up GRE images were reviewed for evidence of ICH and divided into three groups according to ECASS criteria: no hemorrhage (NH), hemorrhagic infarction (HI), and parenchymal hematoma (PH). Results 75 patients from the database met the inclusion criteria, 28 of whom experienced ICH, of which 19 were classified as HI, and nine were classified as PH. The mean permeability (±standard deviations), expressed as an index of contrast leakage, was 17.0%±8.8 in the NH group, 19.4%±4.0 in the HI group, and 24.6%±4.5 in the PH group. Permeability was significantly correlated with ICH grade in univariate (p=0.007) and multivariate (p=0.008) linear regression modeling. Conclusions A PWI-derived index of BBB damage measured prior to IV tPA is associated with the severity of ICH after treatment in patients with AIS. PMID:24876245

Single-Step Assembly of Multi-Modal Imaging Nanocarriers: MRI and Long-Wavelength Fluorescence Imaging

PubMed Central

Pinkerton, Nathalie M.; Gindy, Marian E.; Calero-DdelC, Victoria L.; Wolfson, Theodore; Pagels, Robert F.; Adler, Derek; Gao, Dayuan; Li, Shike; Wang, Ruobing; Zevon, Margot; Yao, Nan; Pacheco, Carlos; Therien, Michael J.; Rinaldi, Carlos; Sinko, Patrick J.

2015-01-01

MRI and NIR-active, multi-modal Composite NanoCarriers (CNCs) are prepared using a simple, one-step process, Flash NanoPrecipitation (FNP). The FNP process allows for the independent control of the hydrodynamic diameter, co-core excipient and NIR dye loading, and iron oxide-based nanocrystal (IONC) content of the CNCs. In the controlled precipitation process, 10 nm IONCs are encapsulated into poly(ethylene glycol) stabilized CNCs to make biocompatible T2 contrast agents. By adjusting the formulation, CNC size is tuned between 80 and 360 nm. Holding the CNC size constant at an intensity weighted average diameter of 99 ± 3 nm (PDI width 28 nm), the particle relaxivity varies linearly with encapsulated IONC content ranging from 66 to 533 mM-1s-1 for CNCs formulated with 4 to 16 wt% IONC. To demonstrate the use of CNCs as in vivo MRI contrast agents, CNCs are surface functionalized with liver targeting hydroxyl groups. The CNCs enable the detection of 0.8 mm3 non-small cell lung cancer metastases in mice livers via MRI. Incorporating the hydrophobic, NIR dye PZn3 into CNCs enables complementary visualization with long-wavelength fluorescence at 800 nm. In vivo imaging demonstrates the ability of CNCs to act both as MRI and fluorescent imaging agents. PMID:25925128

Topological visual mapping in robotics.

PubMed

Romero, Anna; Cazorla, Miguel

2012-08-01

A key problem in robotics is the construction of a map from its environment. This map could be used in different tasks, like localization, recognition, obstacle avoidance, etc. Besides, the simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) problem has had a lot of interest in the robotics community. This paper presents a new method for visual mapping, using topological instead of metric information. For that purpose, we propose prior image segmentation into regions in order to group the extracted invariant features in a graph so that each graph defines a single region of the image. Although others methods have been proposed for visual SLAM, our method is complete, in the sense that it makes all the process: it presents a new method for image matching; it defines a way to build the topological map; and it also defines a matching criterion for loop-closing. The matching process will take into account visual features and their structure using the graph transformation matching (GTM) algorithm, which allows us to process the matching and to remove out the outliers. Then, using this image comparison method, we propose an algorithm for constructing topological maps. During the experimentation phase, we will test the robustness of the method and its ability constructing topological maps. We have also introduced new hysteresis behavior in order to solve some problems found building the graph.

A fractal concentration area method for assigning a color palette for image representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Qiuming; Li, Qingmou

2002-05-01

Displaying the remotely sensed image with a proper color palette is the first task in any kind of image processing and pattern recognition in GIS and image processing environments. The purpose of displaying the image should be not only to provide a visual representation of the variance of the image, although this has been the primary objective of most conventional methods, but also the color palette should reflect real-world features on the ground which must be the primary objective of employing remotely sensed data. Although most conventional methods focus only on the first purpose of image representation, the concentration-area ( C- A plot) fractal method proposed in this paper aims to meet both purposes on the basis of pixel values and pixel value frequency distribution as well as spatial and geometrical properties of image patterns. The C- A method can be used to establish power-law relationships between the area A(⩾ s) with the pixel values greater than s and the pixel value s itself after plotting these values on log-log paper. A number of straight-line segments can be manually or automatically fitted to the points on the log-log paper, each representing a power-law relationship between the area A and the cutoff pixel value for s in a particular range. These straight-line segments can yield a group of cutoff values on the basis of which the image can be classified into discrete classes or zones. These zones usually correspond to the real-world features on the ground. A Windows program has been prepared in ActiveX format for implementing the C- A method and integrating it into other GIS and image processing systems. A case study of Landsat TM band 5 has been used to demonstrate the application of the method and the flexibility of the computer program.

Multimodal-3D imaging based on μMRI and μCT techniques bridges the gap with histology in visualization of the bone regeneration process.

PubMed

Sinibaldi, R; Conti, A; Sinjari, B; Spadone, S; Pecci, R; Palombo, M; Komlev, V S; Ortore, M G; Tromba, G; Capuani, S; Guidotti, R; De Luca, F; Caputi, S; Traini, T; Della Penna, S

2018-03-01

Bone repair/regeneration is usually investigated through X-ray computed microtomography (μCT) supported by histology of extracted samples, to analyse biomaterial structure and new bone formation processes. Magnetic resonance imaging (μMRI) shows a richer tissue contrast than μCT, despite at lower resolution, and could be combined with μCT in the perspective of conducting non-destructive 3D investigations of bone. A pipeline designed to combine μMRI and μCT images of bone samples is here described and applied on samples of extracted human jawbone core following bone graft. We optimized the coregistration procedure between μCT and μMRI images to avoid bias due to the different resolutions and contrasts. Furthermore, we used an Adaptive Multivariate Clustering, grouping homologous voxels in the coregistered images, to visualize different tissue types within a fused 3D metastructure. The tissue grouping matched the 2D histology applied only on 1 slice, thus extending the histology labelling in 3D. Specifically, in all samples, we could separate and map 2 types of regenerated bone, calcified tissue, soft tissues, and/or fat and marrow space. Remarkably, μMRI and μCT alone were not able to separate the 2 types of regenerated bone. Finally, we computed volumes of each tissue in the 3D metastructures, which might be exploited by quantitative simulation. The 3D metastructure obtained through our pipeline represents a first step to bridge the gap between the quality of information obtained from 2D optical microscopy and the 3D mapping of the bone tissue heterogeneity and could allow researchers and clinicians to non-destructively characterize and follow-up bone regeneration. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

JunoCam Images of Jupiter: Science from an Outreach Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, C. J.; Orton, G. S.; Caplinger, M. A.; Ravine, M. A.; Rogers, J.; Eichstädt, G.; Jensen, E.; Bolton, S. J.; Momary, T.; Ingersoll, A. P.

2017-12-01

The Juno mission to Jupiter carries a visible imager on its payload primarily for outreach, and also very useful for jovian atmospheric science. Lacking a formal imaging science team, members of the public have volunteered to process JunoCam images. Lightly processed and raw JunoCam data are posted on the JunoCam webpage at https://missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing. Citizen scientists download these images and upload their processed contributions. JunoCam images through broadband red, green and blue filters and a narrowband methane filter centered at 889 nm mounted directly on the detector. JunoCam is a push-frame imager with a 58 deg wide field of view covering a 1600 pixel width, and builds the second dimension of the image as the spacecraft rotates. This design enables capture of the entire pole of Jupiter in a single image at low emission angle when Juno is 1 hour from perijove (closest approach). At perijove the wide field of view images are high-resolution while still capturing entire storms, e.g. the Great Red Spot. Juno's unique polar orbit yields polar perspectives unavailable to earth-based observers or most previous spacecraft. The first discovery was that the familiar belt-zone structure gives way to more chaotic storms, with cyclones grouped around both the north and south poles [1, 2]. Recent time-lapse sequences have enabled measurement of the rotation rates and wind speeds of these circumpolar cyclones [3]. Other topics are being investigated with substantial, in many cases essential, contributions from citizen scientists. These include correlating the high resolution JunoCam images to storms and disruptions of the belts and zones tracked throughout the historical record. A phase function for Jupiter is being developed empirically to allow image brightness to be flattened from the subsolar point to the terminator. We are studying high hazes and the stratigraphy of the upper atmosphere, utilizing the methane filter, structures illuminated beyond the terminator, and clouds casting shadows. Numerous high altitude clouds have been detected and we are investigating whether they are the jovian equivalent of squall lines. [1] Bolton, S. et al. (2017) Science 356:821; [2] Orton, G. et al. (2017) GRL 44:4599; [3] Adriani, A. et al. (2017) submitted to Nature.

The effect of "multiphase sedation" in the course of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging on children, parents and anesthesiologists.

PubMed

Demir, Guray; Cukurova, Zafer; Eren, Gulay; Tekdos, Yasemin; Hergunsel, Oya

2012-07-01

We aimed to investigate the effect on children undergoing Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), their parents and attending anesthesiologist of "multiphase sedation" which we define as "the intended sedation level achieved with one or more agents through the same or different routes with more than one administration". One hundred children and their parents were randomly allocated to one of two study groups. In phase 1; in Group I the patients were given midazolam (0.5mg.kg(-1)) in 5 mL fruit juice, and the ones in control group (Group II) were given only fruit juice. After intravenous (iv) cannulation; in phase II, boluses of propofol were given to achieve the adequate sedation for imaging. Anxiety scores of children and their parents were recorded using Oucher scale and STAI, respectively, and parental satisfaction was evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS). The number of attempts for iv cannulation, length of time for preparation, and amount of hypnotics were recorded. Anxiety state of children was similar between groups before premedication, but later it was lower in Group I. Before procedure, STAI score of parents was similar and later it was lower in Group I. Parental satisfaction in Group I was higher. The number of attempts for iv cannulation and required propofol dose was less in Group I. "Multiphase sedation" procedure provides children to feel less pain and anxiety, and decreases parental anxiety while increasing their satisfaction. It supplies a comfortable and safe sedation, as it provides a short and problem-free preparation process for the attending anesthetist as well. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

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

Ogden, K; O’Dwyer, R; Bradford, T

Purpose: To reduce differences in features calculated from MRI brain scans acquired at different field strengths with or without Gadolinium contrast. Methods: Brain scans were processed for 111 epilepsy patients to extract hippocampus and thalamus features. Scans were acquired on 1.5 T scanners with Gadolinium contrast (group A), 1.5T scanners without Gd (group B), and 3.0 T scanners without Gd (group C). A total of 72 features were extracted. Features were extracted from original scans and from scans where the image pixel values were rescaled to the mean of the hippocampi and thalami values. For each data set, cluster analysismore » was performed on the raw feature set and for feature sets with normalization (conversion to Z scores). Two methods of normalization were used: The first was over all values of a given feature, and the second by normalizing within the patient group membership. The clustering software was configured to produce 3 clusters. Group fractions in each cluster were calculated. Results: For features calculated from both the non-rescaled and rescaled data, cluster membership was identical for both the non-normalized and normalized data sets. Cluster 1 was comprised entirely of Group A data, Cluster 2 contained data from all three groups, and Cluster 3 contained data from only groups 1 and 2. For the categorically normalized data sets there was a more uniform distribution of group data in the three Clusters. A less pronounced effect was seen in the rescaled image data features. Conclusion: Image Rescaling and feature renormalization can have a significant effect on the results of clustering analysis. These effects are also likely to influence the results of supervised machine learning algorithms. It may be possible to partly remove the influence of scanner field strength and the presence of Gadolinium based contrast in feature extraction for radiomics applications.« less

A novel algorithm for thermal image encryption.

PubMed

Hussain, Iqtadar; Anees, Amir; Algarni, Abdulmohsen

2018-04-16

Thermal images play a vital character at nuclear plants, Power stations, Forensic labs biological research, and petroleum products extraction. Safety of thermal images is very important. Image data has some unique features such as intensity, contrast, homogeneity, entropy and correlation among pixels that is why somehow image encryption is trickier as compare to other encryptions. With conventional image encryption schemes it is normally hard to handle these features. Therefore, cryptographers have paid attention to some attractive properties of the chaotic maps such as randomness and sensitivity to build up novel cryptosystems. That is why, recently proposed image encryption techniques progressively more depends on the application of chaotic maps. This paper proposed an image encryption algorithm based on Chebyshev chaotic map and S8 Symmetric group of permutation based substitution boxes. Primarily, parameters of chaotic Chebyshev map are chosen as a secret key to mystify the primary image. Then, the plaintext image is encrypted by the method generated from the substitution boxes and Chebyshev map. By this process, we can get a cipher text image that is perfectly twisted and dispersed. The outcomes of renowned experiments, key sensitivity tests and statistical analysis confirm that the proposed algorithm offers a safe and efficient approach for real-time image encryption.

Selective use of sequential digital dermoscopy imaging allows a cost reduction in the melanoma detection process: a belgian study of patients with a single or a small number of atypical nevi.

PubMed

Tromme, Isabelle; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Beutels, Philippe; Richez, Pauline; Praet, Nicolas; Sacré, Laurine; Marot, Liliane; Van Eeckhout, Pascal; Theate, Ivan; Baurain, Jean-François; Lambert, Julien; Legrand, Catherine; Thomas, Luc; Speybroeck, Niko

2014-01-01

Dermoscopy is a technique which improves melanoma detection. Optical dermoscopy uses a handheld optical device to observe the skin lesions without recording the images. Sequential digital dermoscopy imaging (SDDI) allows storage of the pictures and their comparison over time. Few studies have compared optical dermoscopy and SDDI from an economic perspective. The present observational study focused on patients with one-to-three atypical melanocytic lesions, i.e. lesions considered as suspicious by optical dermoscopy. It aimed to calculate the "extra-costs" related to the process of melanoma detection. These extra-costs were defined as the costs of excision and pathology of benign lesions and/or the costs of follow-up by SDDI. The objective was to compare these extra-costs when using optical dermoscopy exclusively versus optical dermoscopy with selective use of SDDI. In a first group of patients, dermatologists were adequately trained in optical dermoscopy but worked without access to SDDI. They excised all suspicious lesions to rule out melanoma. In a second group, the dermatologists were trained in optical and digital dermoscopy. They had the opportunity of choosing between immediate excision or follow-up by SDDI (with delayed excision if significant change was observed). The comparison of extra-costs in both groups was made possible by a decision tree model and by the division of the extra-costs by the number of melanomas diagnosed in each group. Belgian official tariffs and charges were used. The extra-costs in the first and in the second group were respectively €1,613 and €1,052 per melanoma excised. The difference was statistically significant. Using the Belgian official tariffs and charges, we demonstrated that the selective use of SDDI for patients with one-to-three atypical melanocytic lesions resulted in a significant cost reduction.

Selective Use of Sequential Digital Dermoscopy Imaging Allows a Cost Reduction in the Melanoma Detection Process: A Belgian Study of Patients with a Single or a Small Number of Atypical Nevi

PubMed Central

Tromme, Isabelle; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Beutels, Philippe; Richez, Pauline; Praet, Nicolas; Sacré, Laurine; Marot, Liliane; Van Eeckhout, Pascal; Theate, Ivan; Baurain, Jean-François; Lambert, Julien; Legrand, Catherine; Thomas, Luc; Speybroeck, Niko

2014-01-01

Background Dermoscopy is a technique which improves melanoma detection. Optical dermoscopy uses a handheld optical device to observe the skin lesions without recording the images. Sequential digital dermoscopy imaging (SDDI) allows storage of the pictures and their comparison over time. Few studies have compared optical dermoscopy and SDDI from an economic perspective. Objective The present observational study focused on patients with one-to-three atypical melanocytic lesions, i.e. lesions considered as suspicious by optical dermoscopy. It aimed to calculate the “extra-costs” related to the process of melanoma detection. These extra-costs were defined as the costs of excision and pathology of benign lesions and/or the costs of follow-up by SDDI. The objective was to compare these extra-costs when using optical dermoscopy exclusively versus optical dermoscopy with selective use of SDDI. Methods In a first group of patients, dermatologists were adequately trained in optical dermoscopy but worked without access to SDDI. They excised all suspicious lesions to rule out melanoma. In a second group, the dermatologists were trained in optical and digital dermoscopy. They had the opportunity of choosing between immediate excision or follow-up by SDDI (with delayed excision if significant change was observed). The comparison of extra-costs in both groups was made possible by a decision tree model and by the division of the extra-costs by the number of melanomas diagnosed in each group. Belgian official tariffs and charges were used. Results The extra-costs in the first and in the second group were respectively €1,613 and €1,052 per melanoma excised. The difference was statistically significant. Conclusions Using the Belgian official tariffs and charges, we demonstrated that the selective use of SDDI for patients with one-to-three atypical melanocytic lesions resulted in a significant cost reduction. PMID:25313898

Gender role, eating disorder symptoms, and body image concern in ballet dancers.

PubMed

Ravaldi, Claudia; Vannacci, Alfredo; Bolognesi, Enrica; Mancini, Stefania; Faravelli, Carlo; Ricca, Valdo

2006-10-01

Our objective was to evaluate the relationships between gender role, eating behavior, and body image in nonprofessional female ballet dancers. One hundred ten female ballet dancers and 59 controls were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), and the Beck Depression Inventory. Ballet dancers scored higher than controls in most of the items evaluating body image and eating behaviors; a high number of ballet dancers with undifferentiated gender role were also observed. In the dancers group, male-typified subjects showed higher median scores of EDE and BUT scales, while in the control group, the highest median scores of EDE and BUT scales were found in undifferentiated subjects. Ballet schools' cultural pressure towards an ideal of leanness could interfere with the process of gender role acquisition. Ballet dancers appear to be overconcerned with performance; this could reinforce the internalization of several constructs that are generally considered as typically male.

Fuzzy image processing in sun sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mobasser, S.; Liebe, C. C.; Howard, A.

2003-01-01

This paper will describe how the fuzzy image processing is implemented in the instrument. Comparison of the Fuzzy image processing and a more conventional image processing algorithm is provided and shows that the Fuzzy image processing yields better accuracy then conventional image processing.

A Set of Image Processing Algorithms for Computer-Aided Diagnosis in Nuclear Medicine Whole Body Bone Scan Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jia-Yann; Kao, Pan-Fu; Chen, Yung-Sheng

2007-06-01

Adjustment of brightness and contrast in nuclear medicine whole body bone scan images may confuse nuclear medicine physicians when identifying small bone lesions as well as making the identification of subtle bone lesion changes in sequential studies difficult. In this study, we developed a computer-aided diagnosis system, based on the fuzzy sets histogram thresholding method and anatomical knowledge-based image segmentation method that was able to analyze and quantify raw image data and identify the possible location of a lesion. To locate anatomical reference points, the fuzzy sets histogram thresholding method was adopted as a first processing stage to suppress the soft tissue in the bone images. Anatomical knowledge-based image segmentation method was then applied to segment the skeletal frame into different regions of homogeneous bones. For the different segmented bone regions, the lesion thresholds were set at different cut-offs. To obtain lesion thresholds in different segmented regions, the ranges and standard deviations of the image's gray-level distribution were obtained from 100 normal patients' whole body bone images and then, another 62 patients' images were used for testing. The two groups of images were independent. The sensitivity and the mean number of false lesions detected were used as performance indices to evaluate the proposed system. The overall sensitivity of the system is 92.1% (222 of 241) and 7.58 false detections per patient scan image. With a high sensitivity and an acceptable false lesions detection rate, this computer-aided automatic lesion detection system is demonstrated as useful and will probably in the future be able to help nuclear medicine physicians to identify possible bone lesions.

Digital Image Support in the ROADNet Real-time Monitoring Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindquist, K. G.; Hansen, T. S.; Newman, R. L.; Vernon, F. L.; Nayak, A.; Foley, S.; Fricke, T.; Orcutt, J.; Rajasekar, A.

2004-12-01

The ROADNet real-time monitoring infrastructure has allowed researchers to integrate geophysical monitoring data from a wide variety of signal domains. Antelope-based data transport, relational-database buffering and archiving, backup/replication/archiving through the Storage Resource Broker, and a variety of web-based distribution tools create a powerful monitoring platform. In this work we discuss our use of the ROADNet system for the collection and processing of digital image data. Remote cameras have been deployed at approximately 32 locations as of September 2004, including the SDSU Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, the Imperial Beach pier, and the Pinon Flats geophysical observatory. Fire monitoring imagery has been obtained through a connection to the HPWREN project. Near-real-time images obtained from the R/V Roger Revelle include records of seafloor operations by the JASON submersible, as part of a maintenance mission for the H2O underwater seismic observatory. We discuss acquisition mechanisms and the packet architecture for image transport via Antelope orbservers, including multi-packet support for arbitrarily large images. Relational database storage supports archiving of timestamped images, image-processing operations, grouping of related images and cameras, support for motion-detect triggers, thumbnail images, pre-computed video frames, support for time-lapse movie generation and storage of time-lapse movies. Available ROADNet monitoring tools include both orbserver-based display of incoming real-time images and web-accessible searching and distribution of images and movies driven by the relational database (http://mercali.ucsd.edu/rtapps/rtimbank.php). An extension to the Kepler Scientific Workflow System also allows real-time image display via the Ptolemy project. Custom time-lapse movies may be made from the ROADNet web pages.

Improved compressed sensing-based cone-beam CT reconstruction using adaptive prior image constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Ho; Xing, Lei; Davidi, Ran; Li, Ruijiang; Qian, Jianguo; Lee, Rena

2012-04-01

Volumetric cone-beam CT (CBCT) images are acquired repeatedly during a course of radiation therapy and a natural question to ask is whether CBCT images obtained earlier in the process can be utilized as prior knowledge to reduce patient imaging dose in subsequent scans. The purpose of this work is to develop an adaptive prior image constrained compressed sensing (APICCS) method to solve this problem. Reconstructed images using full projections are taken on the first day of radiation therapy treatment and are used as prior images. The subsequent scans are acquired using a protocol of sparse projections. In the proposed APICCS algorithm, the prior images are utilized as an initial guess and are incorporated into the objective function in the compressed sensing (CS)-based iterative reconstruction process. Furthermore, the prior information is employed to detect any possible mismatched regions between the prior and current images for improved reconstruction. For this purpose, the prior images and the reconstructed images are classified into three anatomical regions: air, soft tissue and bone. Mismatched regions are identified by local differences of the corresponding groups in the two classified sets of images. A distance transformation is then introduced to convert the information into an adaptive voxel-dependent relaxation map. In constructing the relaxation map, the matched regions (unchanged anatomy) between the prior and current images are assigned with smaller weight values, which are translated into less influence on the CS iterative reconstruction process. On the other hand, the mismatched regions (changed anatomy) are associated with larger values and the regions are updated more by the new projection data, thus avoiding any possible adverse effects of prior images. The APICCS approach was systematically assessed by using patient data acquired under standard and low-dose protocols for qualitative and quantitative comparisons. The APICCS method provides an effective way for us to enhance the image quality at the matched regions between the prior and current images compared to the existing PICCS algorithm. Compared to the current CBCT imaging protocols, the APICCS algorithm allows an imaging dose reduction of 10-40 times due to the greatly reduced number of projections and lower x-ray tube current level coming from the low-dose protocol.

The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies

PubMed Central

Burnett, Stephanie; Sebastian, Catherine; Kadosh, Kathrin Cohen; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2015-01-01

Social cognition is the collection of cognitive processes required to understand and interact with others. The term ‘social brain’ refers to the network of brain regions that underlies these processes. Recent evidence suggests that a number of social cognitive functions continue to develop during adolescence, resulting in age differences in tasks that assess cognitive domains including face processing, mental state inference and responding to peer influence and social evaluation. Concurrently, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies show differences between adolescent and adult groups within parts of the social brain. Understanding the relationship between these neural and behavioural observations is a challenge. This review discusses current research findings on adolescent social cognitive development and its functional MRI correlates, then integrates and interprets these findings in the context of hypothesised developmental neurocognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms. PMID:21036192

Methods in Astronomical Image Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jörsäter, S.

A Brief Introductory Note History of Astronomical Imaging Astronomical Image Data Images in Various Formats Digitized Image Data Digital Image Data Philosophy of Astronomical Image Processing Properties of Digital Astronomical Images Human Image Processing Astronomical vs. Computer Science Image Processing Basic Tools of Astronomical Image Processing Display Applications Calibration of Intensity Scales Calibration of Length Scales Image Re-shaping Feature Enhancement Noise Suppression Noise and Error Analysis Image Processing Packages: Design of AIPS and MIDAS AIPS MIDAS Reduction of CCD Data Bias Subtraction Clipping Preflash Subtraction Dark Subtraction Flat Fielding Sky Subtraction Extinction Correction Deconvolution Methods Rebinning/Combining Summary and Prospects for the Future

Monochromatic Spectral Computed Tomography with Low Iodine Concentration Contrast Medium in a Rabbit VX2 Liver Model:: Investigation of Image Quality and Detection Rate.

PubMed

Zhou, Yue; Xu, Han; Hou, Ping; Dong, Jun Q; Wang, Ming Y; Gao, Jian B

2016-04-01

This study aimed to validate the feasibility of using virtual monochromatic spectral computed tomography (CT) with isotonic low iodine concentration contrast medium for VX2 hepatic tumors. Sixty New Zealand white rabbits with implanted VX2 hepatic tumors underwent two-phase contrast-enhanced spectral CT imaging on the 14th day after tumor implantation. They were randomly divided into groups A, B, and C, with 20 rabbits each (group A: 270 mg I/mL, monochromatic spectral images; group B: 370 mg I/mL, conventional 120 kVp images, 100% filtered back projection [FBP]; group C: 270 mg I/mL, conventional 120 kVp images, 100% FBP). Group A was further divided into two subgroups (subgroup A1: 100% FBP; subgroup A2: 50% FBP + 50% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction). Objective evaluation (signal-to-noise ratio [SNR], contrast-to-noise ratio [CNR], and image noise), subjective rating score (image noise score, anatomical details score, overall image quality score, and lesion conspicuity score), CT dose index volume, and dose length product were compared between groups during two-phase contrast enhancement. The detection rates of the four groups were calculated as percentages. Image noise (SNR and CNR) among the four groups was statistically significant (P <0.05). The image noise in group A2 was lower than in group A1, but higher than that in groups B and C (P <0.05). SNR and CNR in group A2 were the highest, followed by group A1, and group C was the lowest (P <0.05 for all). The image noise score of group A2 was higher than that of the other three groups. In terms of the anatomic details score, the overall image quality score, and the lesion conspicuity score, the images of group A2 were superior to that of groups A1 and C. For hepatic tumor diameters more than or equal to 1.0 cm and less than 3.0 cm, group A achieved a higher detection rate than groups B and C. The CT dose index volume, dose length product, and effective dose in group A were significantly lower than that in groups B and C (P <0.05). On average, group A reduced the effective radiation dose by 27.2% compared to group B, whereas group B reduced the effective radiation dose by 28% compared to group C. Group A reduced the iodine load by 22.86% compared to group B. The use of monochromatic images combined with 50% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction with an isotonic low concentration contrast medium of 270 mg I/mL can optimize image quality, reduce image noise, increase detection rate for small tumors, and decrease radiation dose and iodine load in hepatic tumor CT examinations. Copyright © 2016 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Training working memory in older adults: Is there an advantage of using strategies?

PubMed

Borella, Erika; Carretti, Barbara; Sciore, Roberta; Capotosto, Emanuela; Taconnat, Laurence; Cornoldi, Cesare; De Beni, Rossana

2017-03-01

The purpose of the present study was to test the efficacy of a working memory (WM) training in elderly people, and to compare the effects of a WM training based on an adaptive procedure with one combining the same procedure with the use of a strategy, based on the construction of visual mental images. Eighteen older adults received training with a WM task (the WM group), another 18 received the same WM training and were also taught to use a visual imagery strategy (the WM + Strategy group), and another 18 served as active controls. Training-related gains in the WM (criterion) task and transfer effects on measures of verbal and visuospatial WM, short-term memory (STM), processing speed, and reasoning were considered. Training gains and transfer effects were also assessed after 6 months. After the training, both the trained groups performed better than the control group in the WM criterion task, and maintained these gains 6 months later; they also showed immediate transfer effects on processing speed. The two trained groups also outperformed the control group in the long term in the WM tasks, in one of the STM tasks (backward span task), and in the processing speed measure. Long-term large effect sizes were found for all the tasks involving memory processes in the WM + Strategy group, but only for the processing speed task in the WM group. Findings are discussed in terms of the benefits and limits of teaching older people a strategy in combination with an adaptive WM training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Processing Distracting Non-face Emotional Images: No Evidence of an Age-Related Positivity Effect

PubMed Central

Madill, Mark; Murray, Janice E.

2017-01-01

Cognitive aging may be accompanied by increased prioritization of social and emotional goals that enhance positive experiences and emotional states. The socioemotional selectivity theory suggests this may be achieved by giving preference to positive information and avoiding or suppressing negative information. Although there is some evidence of a positivity bias in controlled attention tasks, it remains unclear whether a positivity bias extends to the processing of affective stimuli presented outside focused attention. In two experiments, we investigated age-related differences in the effects of to-be-ignored non-face affective images on target processing. In Experiment 1, 27 older (64–90 years) and 25 young adults (19–29 years) made speeded valence judgments about centrally presented positive or negative target images taken from the International Affective Picture System. To-be-ignored distractor images were presented above and below the target image and were either positive, negative, or neutral in valence. The distractors were considered task relevant because they shared emotional characteristics with the target stimuli. Both older and young adults responded slower to targets when distractor valence was incongruent with target valence relative to when distractors were neutral. Older adults responded faster to positive than to negative targets but did not show increased interference effects from positive distractors. In Experiment 2, affective distractors were task irrelevant as the target was a three-digit array and did not share emotional characteristics with the distractors. Twenty-six older (63–84 years) and 30 young adults (18–30 years) gave speeded responses on a digit disparity task while ignoring the affective distractors positioned in the periphery. Task performance in either age group was not influenced by the task-irrelevant affective images. In keeping with the socioemotional selectivity theory, these findings suggest that older adults preferentially process task-relevant positive non-face images but only when presented within the main focus of attention. PMID:28450848

Processing Distracting Non-face Emotional Images: No Evidence of an Age-Related Positivity Effect.

PubMed

Madill, Mark; Murray, Janice E

2017-01-01

Cognitive aging may be accompanied by increased prioritization of social and emotional goals that enhance positive experiences and emotional states. The socioemotional selectivity theory suggests this may be achieved by giving preference to positive information and avoiding or suppressing negative information. Although there is some evidence of a positivity bias in controlled attention tasks, it remains unclear whether a positivity bias extends to the processing of affective stimuli presented outside focused attention. In two experiments, we investigated age-related differences in the effects of to-be-ignored non-face affective images on target processing. In Experiment 1, 27 older (64-90 years) and 25 young adults (19-29 years) made speeded valence judgments about centrally presented positive or negative target images taken from the International Affective Picture System. To-be-ignored distractor images were presented above and below the target image and were either positive, negative, or neutral in valence. The distractors were considered task relevant because they shared emotional characteristics with the target stimuli. Both older and young adults responded slower to targets when distractor valence was incongruent with target valence relative to when distractors were neutral. Older adults responded faster to positive than to negative targets but did not show increased interference effects from positive distractors. In Experiment 2, affective distractors were task irrelevant as the target was a three-digit array and did not share emotional characteristics with the distractors. Twenty-six older (63-84 years) and 30 young adults (18-30 years) gave speeded responses on a digit disparity task while ignoring the affective distractors positioned in the periphery. Task performance in either age group was not influenced by the task-irrelevant affective images. In keeping with the socioemotional selectivity theory, these findings suggest that older adults preferentially process task-relevant positive non-face images but only when presented within the main focus of attention.

Successful implementation of image-guided radiation therapy quality assurance in the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group 08.01 PROFIT Study.

PubMed

Middleton, Mark; Frantzis, Jim; Healy, Brendan; Jones, Mark; Murry, Rebecca; Kron, Tomas; Plank, Ashley; Catton, Charles; Martin, Jarad

2011-12-01

The quality assurance (QA) of image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) within clinical trials is in its infancy, but its importance will continue to grow as IGRT becomes the standard of care. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of IGRT QA as part of the credentialing process for a clinical trial. As part of the accreditation process for a randomized trial in prostate cancer hypofraction, IGRT benchmarking across multiple sites was incorporated. Each participating site underwent IGRT credentialing via a site visit. In all centers, intraprostatic fiducials were used. A real-time assessment of analysis of IGRT was performed using Varian's Offline Review image analysis package. Two-dimensional (2D) kV and MV electronic portal imaging prostate patient datasets were used, consisting of 39 treatment verification images for 2D/2D comparison with the digitally reconstructed radiograph derived from the planning scan. The influence of differing sites, image modality, and observer experience on IGRT was then assessed. Statistical analysis of the mean mismatch errors showed that IGRT analysis was performed uniformly regardless of institution, therapist seniority, or imaging modality across the three orthogonal planes. The IGRT component of clinical trials that include sophisticated planning and treatment protocols must undergo stringent QA. The IGRT technique of intraprostatic fiducials has been shown in the context of this trial to be undertaken in a uniform manner across Australia. Extending this concept to many sites with different equipment and IGRT experience will require a robust remote credentialing process. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Light microscopy and image analysis of thin filament lengths utilizing dual probes on beef, chicken, and rabbit myofibrils.

PubMed

Ringkob, T P; Swartz, D R; Greaser, M L

2004-05-01

Image analysis procedures for immunofluorescence microscopy were developed to measure muscle thin filament lengths of beef, rabbit, and chicken myofibrils. Strips of beef cutaneous trunci, rectus abdominis, psoas, and masseter; chicken pectoralis; and rabbit psoas muscles were excised 5 to 30 min postmortem. Fluorescein phalloidin and rhodamine myosin subfragment-1 (S1) were used to probe the myofibril structure. Digital images were recorded with a cooled charge-coupled device controlled with IPLab Spectrum software (Signal Analytics Corp.) on a Macintosh operating system. The camera was attached to an inverted microscope, using both the phase-contrast and fluorescence illumination modes. Unfixed myofibrils incubated with fluorescein phalloidin showed fluorescence primarily at the Z-line and the tips of the thin filaments in the overlap region. Images were processed using IPLab and the National Institutes of Health's Image software. A region of interest was selected and scaled by a factor of 18.18, which enlarged the image from 11 pixels/microm to approximately 200 pixels/microm. An X-Y plot was exported to Spectrum 1.1 (Academic Software Development Group), where the signal was processed with a second derivative routine, so a cursor function could be used to measure length. Fixation before phalloidin incubation resulted in greatest intensity at the Z lines but a more-uniform staining over the remainder of the thin filament zone. High-resolution image capture and processing showed that thin filament lengths were significantly different (P < 0.01) among beef, rabbit, and chicken, with lengths of 1.28 to 1.32 microm, 1.16 microm, and 1.05 microm, respectively. Measurements using the S1 signal confirmed the phalloidin results. Fluorescent probes may be useful to study sarcomere structure and help explain species and muscle differences in meat texture.

Enhanced Visual Cortical Activation for Emotional Stimuli is Preserved in Patients with Unilateral Amygdala Resection

PubMed Central

Edmiston, E. Kale; McHugo, Maureen; Dukic, Mildred S.; Smith, Stephen D.; Abou-Khalil, Bassel; Eggers, Erica

2013-01-01

Emotionally arousing pictures induce increased activation of visual pathways relative to emotionally neutral images. A predominant model for the preferential processing and attention to emotional stimuli posits that the amygdala modulates sensory pathways through its projections to visual cortices. However, recent behavioral studies have found intact perceptual facilitation of emotional stimuli in individuals with amygdala damage. To determine the importance of the amygdala to modulations in visual processing, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine visual cortical blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in response to emotionally salient and neutral images in a sample of human patients with unilateral medial temporal lobe resection that included the amygdala. Adults with right (n = 13) or left (n = 5) medial temporal lobe resections were compared with demographically matched healthy control participants (n = 16). In the control participants, both aversive and erotic images produced robust BOLD signal increases in bilateral primary and secondary visual cortices relative to neutral images. Similarly, all patients with amygdala resections showed enhanced visual cortical activations to erotic images both ipsilateral and contralateral to the lesion site. All but one of the amygdala resection patients showed similar enhancements to aversive stimuli and there were no significant group differences in visual cortex BOLD responses in patients compared with controls for either aversive or erotic images. Our results indicate that neither the right nor left amygdala is necessary for the heightened visual cortex BOLD responses observed during emotional stimulus presentation. These data challenge an amygdalo-centric model of emotional modulation and suggest that non-amygdalar processes contribute to the emotional modulation of sensory pathways. PMID:23825407

Characteristics of Kodak Insight, an F-speed intraoral film.

PubMed

Ludlow, J B; Platin, E; Mol, A

2001-01-01

This study reports film speed, contrast, exposure latitude, resolution, and response to processing solution depletion of Kodak Insight intraoral film. Densitometric curves were generated by using International Standards Organization protocol. Additional curves were generated for Ultra-speed, Ektaspeed Plus, and Insight films developed in progressively depleted processing solutions. Eight observers viewed images of a resolution test tool for maximum resolution assessment. Images of an aluminum step-wedge were reviewed to determine useful exposure latitude. Insight's sensitivity in fresh automatic processor solutions places it in the F-speed group. An average gradient of 1.8 was found with all film types. Insight provided 93% of the useful exposure latitude of Ektaspeed Plus film. Insight maintained contrast in progressively depleted processing solutions. Like Ektaspeed Plus, Insight was able to resolve at least 20 line-pairs per millimeter. Under International Standards Organization conditions, Insight required only 77% of the exposure of Ektaspeed Plus film. Insight film provided stable contrast in depleted processing solutions.

Modelling the structure of sludge aggregates

PubMed Central

Smoczyński, Lech; Ratnaweera, Harsha; Kosobucka, Marta; Smoczyński, Michał; Kalinowski, Sławomir; Kvaal, Knut

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The structure of sludge is closely associated with the process of wastewater treatment. Synthetic dyestuff wastewater and sewage were coagulated using the PAX and PIX methods, and electro-coagulated on aluminium electrodes. The processes of wastewater treatment were supported with an organic polymer. The images of surface structures of the investigated sludge were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The software image analysis permitted obtaining plots log A vs. log P, wherein A is the surface area and P is the perimeter of the object, for individual objects comprised in the structure of the sludge. The resulting database confirmed the ‘self-similarity’ of the structural objects in the studied groups of sludge, which enabled calculating their fractal dimension and proposing models for these objects. A quantitative description of the sludge aggregates permitted proposing a mechanism of the processes responsible for their formation. In the paper, also, the impact of the structure of the investigated sludge on the process of sedimentation, and dehydration of the thickened sludge after sedimentation, was discussed. PMID:26549812

Automated synthesis of image processing procedures using AI planning techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve; Mortensen, Helen

1994-01-01

This paper describes the Multimission VICAR (Video Image Communication and Retrieval) Planner (MVP) (Chien 1994) system, which uses artificial intelligence planning techniques (Iwasaki & Friedland, 1985, Pemberthy & Weld, 1992, Stefik, 1981) to automatically construct executable complex image processing procedures (using models of the smaller constituent image processing subprograms) in response to image processing requests made to the JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory (MIPL). The MVP system allows the user to specify the image processing requirements in terms of the various types of correction required. Given this information, MVP derives unspecified required processing steps and determines appropriate image processing programs and parameters to achieve the specified image processing goals. This information is output as an executable image processing program which can then be executed to fill the processing request.

Design and implementation of a biomedical image database (BDIM).

PubMed

Aubry, F; Badaoui, S; Kaplan, H; Di Paola, R

1988-01-01

We developed a biomedical image database (BDIM) which proposes a standardized representation of value arrays such as images and curves, and of their associated parameters, independently of their acquisition mode to make their transmission and processing easier. It includes three kinds of interactions, oriented to the users. The network concept was kept as a constraint to incorporate the BDIM in a distributed structure and we maintained compatibility with the ACR/NEMA communication protocol. The management of arrays and their associated parameters includes two distinct bases of objects, linked together via a gateway. The first one manages arrays according to their storage mode: long term storage on optionally on-line mass storage devices, and, for consultations, partial copies of long term stored arrays on hard disk. The second one manages the associated parameters and the gateway by means of the relational DBMS ORACLE. Parameters are grouped into relations. Some of them are in agreement with groups defined by the ACR/NEMA. The other relations describe objects resulting from processed initial objects. These new objects are not described by the ACR/NEMA but they can be inserted as shadow groups of ACR/NEMA description. The relations describing the storage and their pathname constitute the gateway. ORACLE distributed tools and the two-level storage technique will allow the integration of the BDIM into a distributed structure, Queries and array (alone or in sequences) retrieval module has access to the relations via a level in which a dictionary managed by ORACLE is included. This dictionary translates ACR/NEMA objects into objects that can be handled by the DBMS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Technical Note: Detection of gas bubble leakage via correlation of water column multibeam images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider von Deimling, J.; Papenberg, C.

2012-03-01

Hydroacoustic detection of natural gas release from the seafloor has been conducted in the past by using singlebeam echosounders. In contrast, modern multibeam swath mapping systems allow much wider coverage, higher resolution, and offer 3-D spatial correlation. Up to the present, the extremely high data rate hampers water column backscatter investigations and more sophisticated visualization and processing techniques are needed. Here, we present water column backscatter data acquired with a 50 kHz prototype multibeam system over a period of 75 seconds. Display types are of swath-images as well as of a "re-sorted" singlebeam presentation. Thus, individual and/or groups of gas bubbles rising from the 24 m deep seafloor clearly emerge in the acoustic images, making it possible to estimate rise velocities. A sophisticated processing scheme is introduced to identify those rising gas bubbles in the hydroacoustic data. We apply a cross-correlation technique adapted from particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) to the acoustic backscatter images. Temporal and spatial drift patterns of the bubbles are assessed and are shown to match very well to measured and theoretical rise patterns. The application of this processing to our field data gives clear results with respect to unambiguous bubble detection and remote bubble rise velocimetry. The method can identify and exclude the main source of misinterpretations, i.e. fish-mediated echoes. Although image-based cross-correlation techniques are well known in the field of fluid mechanics for high resolution and non-inversive current flow field analysis, we present the first application of this technique as an acoustic bubble detector.

Neural mechanisms of working memory in ecstasy (MDMA) users who continue or discontinue ecstasy and amphetamine use: evidence from an 18-month longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

PubMed

Daumann, Jörg; Fischermann, Thomas; Heekeren, Karsten; Thron, Armin; Gouzoulis-Mayfrank, Euphrosyne

2004-09-01

Working memory processing in ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users is associated with neural alterations as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Here, we examined whether cortical activation patterns change after prolonged periods of continued use or abstinence from ecstasy and amphetamine. We used an n-back task and functional magnetic resonance imaging in 17 ecstasy users at baseline (t(1)) and after 18 months (t(2)). Based on the reported drug use at t(2) we separated subjects with continued ecstasy and amphetamine use from subjects reporting abstinence during the follow-up period (n = 9 and n = 8, respectively). At baseline both groups had similar task performance and similar cortical activation patterns. Task performance remained unchanged in both groups. Furthermore, there were no detectable functional magnetic resonance imaging signal changes from t(1) to t(2) in the follow-up abstinent group. However, the continuing users showed a dose-dependent increased parietal activation for the 2-back task after the follow-up period. Our data suggest that ecstasy use, particularly in high doses, is associated with greater parietal activation during working memory performance. An altered activation pattern might appear before changes in cognitive performance become apparent and, hence, may reflect an early stage of neuronal injury from the neurotoxic drug ecstasy.

T2 relaxation mapping MRI of healthy and inflamed gingival tissue

PubMed Central

Bishop, Courtney A; Janiczek, Robert L; Parkinson, Charles; Hughes, Francis J

2017-01-01

Objectives: To investigate the use and reproducibility of MRI transverse relaxation time (T2) mapping in healthy and inflamed gingivae. Methods: 21 subjects were recruited into 2 groups: those without evidence of gingivitis (“healthy”; n = 11, age 24.0 ± 3.66 years) by visual assessment and those with moderate to severe gingivitis (“gingivitis”; n = 10, age 28.9 ± 6.03 years) exhibited across the second mandibular premolar and first mandibular molar buccal gingivae. Subjects were imaged by MRI twice in a single day. Three T2 weighted turbo spin-echo volumes with 0.25 × 0.25 × 0.8-mm3 resolution were acquired at echo times of 16, 32 and 48 ms for T2 decay fitting. Image analysis was fully blinded; the two imaging sessions were not identifiable as coming from the same subject. Each imaging session had independent regions of interest drawn on the first echo image and applied to the calculated T2 decay maps. Results: The coefficient of variation was low and similar in healthy and gingivitis populations: 6.10 and 5.25% populations, respectively, with 5.65% populations across both groups. Bland–Altman analysis revealed no bias (mean −2.93%; 95% confidence intervals −22.20 to 16.34%) between sessions. The intersession agreement was good (r = 0.744, ρ = 0.568, intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.68). T2 mapping did not differentiate healthy from gingivitis groups. The mean T2 value in the healthy group (63.7 ms) was similar to that of the gingivitis group (65.23 ms) (p = 0.30). Conclusions: Mapping of the T2 decay in the gingivae was a repeatable process; however, T2 value alone did not differentiate those with clinical examination-determined gingivitis from those without signs of gingivitis. PMID:27936919

Brain fMRI study of crave induced by cue pictures in online game addicts (male adolescents).

PubMed

Sun, Yueji; Ying, Huang; Seetohul, Ravi M; Xuemei, Wang; Ya, Zheng; Qian, Li; Guoqing, Xu; Ye, Sun

2012-08-01

To study crave-related cerebral regions induced by game figure cues in online game addicts. fMRI brain imaging was done when the subjects were shown picture cues of the WoW (World of Warcraft, Version: 4.1.014250) game. 10 male addicts of WoW were selected as addicts' group, and 10 other healthy male non-addicts who were matched by age, were used as non-game addicts' group. All volunteers participated in fMRI paradigms. WoW associated cue pictures and neutral pictures were shown. We examined functional cerebral regions activated by the pictures with 3.0 T Philips MRI. The imaging signals' database was analyzed by SPM5. The correlation between game craving scores and different image results were assessed. When the game addicts watch the pictures, some brain areas show increased signal activity namely: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, bilateral temporal cortex, cerebellum, right inferior parietal lobule, right cuneus, right hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, left caudate nucleus. But in these same brain regions we did not observe remarkable activities in the control group. Differential image signal densities of the addict group were subtracted from the health control group, results of which were expressed in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, inferior parietal lobe and inferior temporal gyrus, cerebellum, right insular and the right angular gyrus. The increased imaging signal densities were significant and positively correlated with the craving scale scores in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and right inferior parietal lobe. Craving of online game addicts was successfully induced by game cue pictures. Crave related brain areas are: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and right inferior parietal lobe. The brain regions are overlapped with cognitive and emotion related processing brain areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES): Restricted Diffusion does not Necessarily Mean Irreversibility.

PubMed

Wagih, Alaa; Mohsen, Laila; Rayan, Moustafa M; Hasan, Mo'men M; Al-Sherif, Ashraf H

2015-01-01

Restricted diffusion is the second most common atypical presentation of PRES. This has a very important implication, as lesions with cytotoxic edema may progress to infarction. Several studies suggested the role of DWI in the prediction of development of infarctions in these cases. Other studies, however, suggested that PRES is reversible even with cytotoxic patterns. Our aim was to evaluate whether every restricted diffusion in PRES is reversible and what factors affect this reversibility. Thirty-six patients with acute neurological symptoms suggestive of PRES were included in our study. Inclusion criteria comprised imaging features of atypical PRES where DWI images and ADC maps show restricted diffusion. Patients were imaged with 0.2-T and 1.5-T machines. FLAIR images were evaluated for the severity of the disease and a FLAIR/DWI score was used. ADC values were selectively recorded from the areas of diffusion restriction. A follow-up MRI study was carried out in all patients after 2 weeks. Patients were classified according to reversibility into: Group 1 (reversible PRES; 32 patients) and Group 2 (irreversible changes; 4 patients). The study was approved by the University's research ethics committee, which conforms to the declaration of Helsinki. The age and blood pressure did not vary significantly between both groups. The total number of regions involved and the FLAIR/DWI score did not vary significantly between both groups. Individual regions did not reveal any tendency for the development of irreversible lesions. Similarly, ADC values did not reveal any significant difference between both groups. PRES is completely reversible in the majority of patients, even with restricted diffusion. None of the variables under study could predict the reversibility of PRES lesions. It seems that this process is individual-dependent.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES): Restricted Diffusion does not Necessarily Mean Irreversibility

PubMed Central

Wagih, Alaa; Mohsen, Laila; Rayan, Moustafa M.; Hasan, Mo’men M.; Al-Sherif, Ashraf H.

2015-01-01

Summary Background Restricted diffusion is the second most common atypical presentation of PRES. This has a very important implication, as lesions with cytotoxic edema may progress to infarction. Several studies suggested the role of DWI in the prediction of development of infarctions in these cases. Other studies, however, suggested that PRES is reversible even with cytotoxic patterns. Our aim was to evaluate whether every restricted diffusion in PRES is reversible and what factors affect this reversibility. Material/Methods Thirty-six patients with acute neurological symptoms suggestive of PRES were included in our study. Inclusion criteria comprised imaging features of atypical PRES where DWI images and ADC maps show restricted diffusion. Patients were imaged with 0.2-T and 1.5-T machines. FLAIR images were evaluated for the severity of the disease and a FLAIR/DWI score was used. ADC values were selectively recorded from the areas of diffusion restriction. A follow-up MRI study was carried out in all patients after 2 weeks. Patients were classified according to reversibility into: Group 1 (reversible PRES; 32 patients) and Group 2 (irreversible changes; 4 patients). The study was approved by the University’s research ethics committee, which conforms to the declaration of Helsinki. Results The age and blood pressure did not vary significantly between both groups. The total number of regions involved and the FLAIR/DWI score did not vary significantly between both groups. Individual regions did not reveal any tendency for the development of irreversible lesions. Similarly, ADC values did not reveal any significant difference between both groups. Conclusions PRES is completely reversible in the majority of patients, even with restricted diffusion. None of the variables under study could predict the reversibility of PRES lesions. It seems that this process is individual-dependent. PMID:25960819

Affective context interferes with cognitive control in unipolar depression: An fMRI investigation

PubMed Central

Dichter, Gabriel S.; Felder, Jennifer N.; Smoski, Moria J.

2009-01-01

Background Unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by aberrant amygdala responses to sad stimuli and poor cognitive control, but the interactive effects of these impairments are poorly understood. Aim To evaluate brain activation in MDD in response to cognitive control stimuli embedded within sad and neutral contexts. Method Fourteen adults with MDD and fifteen matched controls participated in a mixed block/event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task that presented oddball target stimuli embedded within blocks of sad or neutral images. Results Target events activated similar prefrontal brain regions in both groups. However, responses to target events embedded within blocks of emotional images revealed a clear group dissociation. During neutral blocks, the control group demonstrated greater activation to targets in the midfrontal gyrus and anterior cingulate relative to the MDD group, replicating previous findings of prefrontal hypo-activation in MDD samples to cognitive control stimuli. However, during sad blocks, the MDD group demonstrated greater activation in a number of prefrontal regions, including the mid-, inferior, and orbito-frontal gyri and the anterior cingulate, suggesting that relatively more prefrontal brain activation was required to disengage from the sad images to respond to the target events. Limitations A larger sample size would have provided greater statistical power, and more standardized stimuli would have increased external validity. Conclusions This double dissociation of prefrontal responses to target events embedded within neutral and sad context suggests that MDD impacts not only responses to affective events, but extends to other cognitive processes carried out in the context of affective engagement. This implies that emotional reactivity to sad events in MDD may impact functioning more broadly than previously understood. PMID:18706701

[Application of anoptomagnetic probe Gd-DO3A-EA-FITC in imaging and analyzing the brain interstitial space].

PubMed

Li, Y Q; Sheng, Y; Liang, L; Zhao, Y; Li, H Y; Bai, N; Wang, T; Yuan, L; Han, H B

2018-04-18

To investigate the application of the optical magnetic bimodal molecular probe Gd-DO3A-ethylthiouret-fluorescein isothiocyanate (Gd -DO3A-EA-FITC) in brain tissue imaging and brain interstitial space (ISS). In the study, 24 male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, including magnetic probe group (n=6), optical probe group (n=6) and optical magnetic bimodal probe group (n=12), then the optical magnetic bimodal probe group was divided equally into magnetic probe subgroup (n=6) and optical probe subgroup (n=6). Referencing the brain stereotaxic atlas, the coronal globus pallidus as center level, the probes including gadolinium-diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA), fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and Gd-DO3A-EA-FITC of 2 μL (10 mmol/L) were injected into the caudate nucleus respectively, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in the magnetic probe group and magnetic probe subgroup to image the dynamic diffusion and distribution of the probes in the brain ISS, a self-developed brain ISS image processing system was used to measure the diffusion coefficient, clearance, volume fraction and half-time in these two groups. Laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) was performed in vitro in the optical probe group and optical probe subgroup for fluorescence imaging at the time points 2 hours after the injection of the probe, and the distribution in the oblique sagittal slice was compared with the result of the first two groups. For the magnetic probe group and magnetic probe subgroup, there were the same imaging results between the probes of Gd-DTPA and Gd-DO3A-EA-FITC. The diffusion parameters of Gd-DTPA and Gd-DO3A-EA-FITC were as follows: the average diffusion coefficients [(3.31±0.11)×10 -4 mm 2 /s vs. (3.37±0.15)×10 -4 mm 2 /s, t=0.942, P=0.360], the clearance [(3.04±0.37) mmol/L vs. (2.90±0.51) mmol/L, t=0.640, P=0.531], the volume fractions (17.18%±0.14% vs. 17.31%±0.15%, t=1.961, P=0.068), the half-time [(86.58±3.31) min vs. (84.61±2.38) min, t=1.412, P=0.177], the diffusion areas [(23.25±0.68) mm 2 vs. (22.71±1.00) mm 2 , t=1.100, P=0.297]. The statistical analysis of each brain was made by t test, and the diffusion parameters were not statistically significant. Moreover, for the optical probe group and optical probe subgroup, the diffusion area of Gd-DO3A-EA-FITC [(22.61±1.16) mm 2 ] was slightly larger than that of FITC [(22.10±1.29) mm 2 ], the statistical analysis of each brain was made by t test, and the diffusion parameters were not statistically significant (t=0.713, P=0.492). Gd-DO3A-EA-FITC shows the same imaging results as the traditional GD-DTPA, and it can be used in measuring brain ISS.

Fusiform Gyrus Dysfunction is Associated with Perceptual Processing Efficiency to Emotional Faces in Adolescent Depression: A Model-Based Approach.

PubMed

Ho, Tiffany C; Zhang, Shunan; Sacchet, Matthew D; Weng, Helen; Connolly, Colm G; Henje Blom, Eva; Han, Laura K M; Mobayed, Nisreen O; Yang, Tony T

2016-01-01

While the extant literature has focused on major depressive disorder (MDD) as being characterized by abnormalities in processing affective stimuli (e.g., facial expressions), little is known regarding which specific aspects of cognition influence the evaluation of affective stimuli, and what are the underlying neural correlates. To investigate these issues, we assessed 26 adolescents diagnosed with MDD and 37 well-matched healthy controls (HCL) who completed an emotion identification task of dynamically morphing faces during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We analyzed the behavioral data using a sequential sampling model of response time (RT) commonly used to elucidate aspects of cognition in binary perceptual decision making tasks: the Linear Ballistic Accumulator (LBA) model. Using a hierarchical Bayesian estimation method, we obtained group-level and individual-level estimates of LBA parameters on the facial emotion identification task. While the MDD and HCL groups did not differ in mean RT, accuracy, or group-level estimates of perceptual processing efficiency (i.e., drift rate parameter of the LBA), the MDD group showed significantly reduced responses in left fusiform gyrus compared to the HCL group during the facial emotion identification task. Furthermore, within the MDD group, fMRI signal in the left fusiform gyrus during affective face processing was significantly associated with greater individual-level estimates of perceptual processing efficiency. Our results therefore suggest that affective processing biases in adolescents with MDD are characterized by greater perceptual processing efficiency of affective visual information in sensory brain regions responsible for the early processing of visual information. The theoretical, methodological, and clinical implications of our results are discussed.

Fusiform Gyrus Dysfunction is Associated with Perceptual Processing Efficiency to Emotional Faces in Adolescent Depression: A Model-Based Approach

PubMed Central

Ho, Tiffany C.; Zhang, Shunan; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Weng, Helen; Connolly, Colm G.; Henje Blom, Eva; Han, Laura K. M.; Mobayed, Nisreen O.; Yang, Tony T.

2016-01-01

While the extant literature has focused on major depressive disorder (MDD) as being characterized by abnormalities in processing affective stimuli (e.g., facial expressions), little is known regarding which specific aspects of cognition influence the evaluation of affective stimuli, and what are the underlying neural correlates. To investigate these issues, we assessed 26 adolescents diagnosed with MDD and 37 well-matched healthy controls (HCL) who completed an emotion identification task of dynamically morphing faces during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We analyzed the behavioral data using a sequential sampling model of response time (RT) commonly used to elucidate aspects of cognition in binary perceptual decision making tasks: the Linear Ballistic Accumulator (LBA) model. Using a hierarchical Bayesian estimation method, we obtained group-level and individual-level estimates of LBA parameters on the facial emotion identification task. While the MDD and HCL groups did not differ in mean RT, accuracy, or group-level estimates of perceptual processing efficiency (i.e., drift rate parameter of the LBA), the MDD group showed significantly reduced responses in left fusiform gyrus compared to the HCL group during the facial emotion identification task. Furthermore, within the MDD group, fMRI signal in the left fusiform gyrus during affective face processing was significantly associated with greater individual-level estimates of perceptual processing efficiency. Our results therefore suggest that affective processing biases in adolescents with MDD are characterized by greater perceptual processing efficiency of affective visual information in sensory brain regions responsible for the early processing of visual information. The theoretical, methodological, and clinical implications of our results are discussed. PMID:26869950

Comparison Of Eigenvector-Based Statistical Pattern Recognition Algorithms For Hybrid Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Q.; Fainman, Y.; Lee, Sing H.

1989-02-01

The pattern recognition algorithms based on eigenvector analysis (group 2) are theoretically and experimentally compared in this part of the paper. Group 2 consists of Foley-Sammon (F-S) transform, Hotelling trace criterion (HTC), Fukunaga-Koontz (F-K) transform, linear discriminant function (LDF) and generalized matched filter (GMF). It is shown that all eigenvector-based algorithms can be represented in a generalized eigenvector form. However, the calculations of the discriminant vectors are different for different algorithms. Summaries on how to calculate the discriminant functions for the F-S, HTC and F-K transforms are provided. Especially for the more practical, underdetermined case, where the number of training images is less than the number of pixels in each image, the calculations usually require the inversion of a large, singular, pixel correlation (or covariance) matrix. We suggest solving this problem by finding its pseudo-inverse, which requires inverting only the smaller, non-singular image correlation (or covariance) matrix plus multiplying several non-singular matrices. We also compare theoretically the effectiveness for classification with the discriminant functions from F-S, HTC and F-K with LDF and GMF, and between the linear-mapping-based algorithms and the eigenvector-based algorithms. Experimentally, we compare the eigenvector-based algorithms using a set of image data bases each image consisting of 64 x 64 pixels.

Effective communication: perception of two anti-smoking advertisements.

PubMed

Montazeri, A; McEwen, J

1997-01-01

This paper presents part of a survey which investigated people's response to different approaches to health education campaigns. The main objective of the original study was to find out whether the respondents preferred a fear-inducing campaign or a positive image advertising. Two anti-smoking advertisement produced by the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS), one using a fear appeal and the other, using a positive image were examined. A sample of 394 subjects in three age groups took part in the study and they were interviewed by means of a questionnaire. A high proportion in each group, including smokers indicated that they preferred the fear-inducing campaign. To investigate why people prefer this type of image, respondents were asked to explain their reasons. It was found that effective communication requires: (1) reality, (2) clear cut message, (3) simplicity, and (4) thought provoking nature and impact of the message. In addition, with regard to the advertising appeals it was found that both positive image and negative image campaigns could be used to attract attention and consequently communicate with the target population. Finally, the findings of this study in the light of psychosocial theories are discussed, and the Preference Model is proposed as providing a better understanding of the process behind people's preferences.

The effect of image processing on the detection of cancers in digital mammography.

PubMed

Warren, Lucy M; Given-Wilson, Rosalind M; Wallis, Matthew G; Cooke, Julie; Halling-Brown, Mark D; Mackenzie, Alistair; Chakraborty, Dev P; Bosmans, Hilde; Dance, David R; Young, Kenneth C

2014-08-01

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to investigate the effect of image processing on the detection of cancers in digital mammography images. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Two hundred seventy pairs of breast images (both breasts, one view) were collected from eight systems using Hologic amorphous selenium detectors: 80 image pairs showed breasts containing subtle malignant masses; 30 image pairs, biopsy-proven benign lesions; 80 image pairs, simulated calcification clusters; and 80 image pairs, no cancer (normal). The 270 image pairs were processed with three types of image processing: standard (full enhancement), low contrast (intermediate enhancement), and pseudo-film-screen (no enhancement). Seven experienced observers inspected the images, locating and rating regions they suspected to be cancer for likelihood of malignancy. The results were analyzed using a jackknife-alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC) analysis. RESULTS. The detection of calcification clusters was significantly affected by the type of image processing: The JAFROC figure of merit (FOM) decreased from 0.65 with standard image processing to 0.63 with low-contrast image processing (p = 0.04) and from 0.65 with standard image processing to 0.61 with film-screen image processing (p = 0.0005). The detection of noncalcification cancers was not significantly different among the image-processing types investigated (p > 0.40). CONCLUSION. These results suggest that image processing has a significant impact on the detection of calcification clusters in digital mammography. For the three image-processing versions and the system investigated, standard image processing was optimal for the detection of calcification clusters. The effect on cancer detection should be considered when selecting the type of image processing in the future.

Effectiveness of image features and similarity measures in cluster-based approaches for content-based image retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Hongbo; Al-Jubouri, Hanan; Sellahewa, Harin

2014-05-01

Content-based image retrieval is an automatic process of retrieving images according to image visual contents instead of textual annotations. It has many areas of application from automatic image annotation and archive, image classification and categorization to homeland security and law enforcement. The key issues affecting the performance of such retrieval systems include sensible image features that can effectively capture the right amount of visual contents and suitable similarity measures to find similar and relevant images ranked in a meaningful order. Many different approaches, methods and techniques have been developed as a result of very intensive research in the past two decades. Among many existing approaches, is a cluster-based approach where clustering methods are used to group local feature descriptors into homogeneous regions, and search is conducted by comparing the regions of the query image against those of the stored images. This paper serves as a review of works in this area. The paper will first summarize the existing work reported in the literature and then present the authors' own investigations in this field. The paper intends to highlight not only achievements made by recent research but also challenges and difficulties still remaining in this area.

Imaging of degenerative lumbar intervertebral discs; linking anatomy, pathology and imaging.

PubMed

Adams, Ashok; Roche, Oran; Mazumder, Asif; Davagnanam, Indran; Mankad, Kshitij

2014-09-01

Low back pain is a common medical condition that has significant implications for healthcare providers and the UK economy. Low back pain can be classified as 'specific' in which an underlying pathophysiological mechanism is identified (eg, herniated intervertebral disc). Advanced imaging should be performed in this situation and in those patients in whom systemic disease is strongly suspected. In the majority (approximately 90%), low back pain in 'non specific' and there is a weak correlation with imaging abnormalities. This is an area of ongoing research and remains controversial in terms of imaging approach and treatment (eg, theory of discogenic pain, interpretation and treatment of endplate changes). With regards Modic endplate changes, current research suggests that an infective component may be involved that may identify novel potential treatments in patients with chronic low back pain refractory to other treatment modalities. MRI is the imaging modality of choice for the assessment of degenerative changes in intervertebral discs. MRI has superior soft tissue contrast resolution when compared to other imaging modalities (eg, plain radiography, CT). An understanding of normal anatomy and MR appearances of intervertebral discs, particularly with regards to how these appearances change with advancing age, is required to aid image interpretation. Knowledge of the spectrum of degenerative processes that may occur in the intervertebral discs is required in order to identify and explain abnormal MRI appearances. As the communication of MRI findings may guide therapeutic decision making and surgical intervention, the terminology used by radiologists must be accurate and consistent. Therefore, description of degenerative disc changes in the current paper is based on the most up-to-date recommendations, the aim being to aid reporting by radiologists and interpretation of reports by referring clinicians. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

WE-G-204-09: Medical Physics 2.0 in Practice: Automated QC Assessment of Clinical Chest Images

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

Willis, C; Willis, C; Nishino, T

2015-06-15

Purpose: To determine whether a proposed suite of objective image quality metrics for digital chest radiographs is useful for monitoring image quality in our clinical operation. Methods: Seventeen gridless AP Chest radiographs from a GE Optima portable digital radiography (DR) unit (Group 1), seventeen (routine) PA Chest radiographs from a GE Discovery DR unit (Group 2), and sixteen gridless (non-routine) PA Chest radiographs from the same Discovery DR unit (Group 3) were chosen for analysis. Groups were selected to represent “sub-standard” (Group 1), “standard-of-care” (Group 2), and images with a gross technical error (Group 3). Group 1 images were acquiredmore » with lower kVp (90 vs. 125), shorter source-to-image distance (127cm vs 183cm) and were expected to have lower quality than images in Group 2. Group 3 was expected to have degraded contrast versus Group 2.This evaluation was approved by the institutional Quality Improvement Assurance Board (QIAB). Images were anonymized and securely transferred to the Duke University Clinical Imaging Physics Group for analysis using software previously described{sup 1} and validated{sup 2}. Image quality for individual images was reported in terms of lung grey level(Lgl); lung noise(Ln); rib-lung contrast(RLc); rib sharpness(Rs); mediastinum detail(Md), noise(Mn), and alignment(Ma); subdiaphragm-lung contrast(SLc); and subdiaphragm area(Sa). Metrics were compared across groups. Results: Metrics agreed with published Quality Consistency Ranges with three exceptions: higher Lgl, lower RLc, and SDc. Higher bit depth (16 vs 12) accounted for higher Lgl values in our images. Values were most internally consistent for Group 2. The most sensitive metric for distinguishing between groups was Mn followed closely by Ln. The least sensitive metrics were Md and RLc. Conclusion: The software appears promising for objectively and automatically identifying substandard images in our operation. The results can be used to establish local quality consistency ranges and action limits per facility preferences.« less

When the brain does not adequately feel the body: Links between low resilience and interoception.

PubMed

Haase, Lori; Stewart, Jennifer L; Youssef, Brittany; May, April C; Isakovic, Sara; Simmons, Alan N; Johnson, Douglas C; Potterat, Eric G; Paulus, Martin P

2016-01-01

This study examined neural processes of resilience during aversive interoceptive processing. Forty-six individuals were divided into three groups of resilience Low (LowRes), high (HighRes), and normal (NormRes), based on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (2003). Participants then completed a task involving anticipation and experience of loaded breathing during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recording. Compared to HighRes and NormRes groups, LowRes self-reported lower levels of interoceptive awareness and demonstrated higher insular and thalamic activation across anticipation and breathing load conditions. Thus, individuals with lower resilience show reduced attention to bodily signals but greater neural processing to aversive bodily perturbations. In low resilient individuals, this mismatch between attention to and processing of interoceptive afferents may result in poor adaptation in stressful situations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding the Stress Process of Chinese- and Korean-American Breast Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Paek, Min-So; Lim, Jung-Won

2016-10-01

Guided by the stress process model (SPM), this study investigated the direct and indirect pathways of primary (negative self-image and life stress), secondary stressors (family communication strain) and family coping (external and internal) on mental health outcomes among Chinese- and Korean-American breast cancer survivors (BCS). A total of 156 Chinese- and Korean-American BCS were surveyed. Results showed primary and secondary stressors had a negative effect on better mental health outcomes. External coping was associated with better mental health. Family communication strain mediated the relationship between life stress and mental health outcomes. External coping mediated the relationship between family communication strain and mental health outcomes. Multi-group analysis revealed the stress process did not differ across ethnic groups. Findings suggest the SPM may be applicable to understand the stress process of Chinese- and Korean-American BCS and provide valuable insight into the role of family communication and external coping on mental health outcomes.

Designing a Website to Support Students' Academic Writing Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Åberg, Eva Svärdemo; Ståhle, Ylva; Engdahl, Ingrid; Knutes-Nyqvist, Helen

2016-01-01

Academic writing skills are crucial when students, e.g., in teacher education programs, write their undergraduate theses. A multi-modal web-based and self-regulated learning resource on academic writing was developed, using texts, hypertext, moving images, podcasts and templates. A study, using surveys and a focus group, showed that students used…

Educational Technology Classics: Educational Technology Doesn't Really Exist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silvern, Leonard C.

2013-01-01

The improvement of a professional group is due, in part, to its ability for introspection and self-evaluation. This is essentially the process of "analyzing" the profession as it currently is practiced, identifying necessary changes and improvements, and "synthesizing" or creating a new image or model of the profession to…

Facial emotion processing in pediatric social anxiety disorder: Relevance of situational context.

PubMed

Schwab, Daniela; Schienle, Anne

2017-08-01

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) typically begins in childhood. Previous research has demonstrated that adult patients respond with elevated late positivity (LP) to negative facial expressions. In the present study on pediatric SAD, we investigated responses to negative facial expressions and the role of social context information. Fifteen children with SAD and 15 non-anxious controls were first presented with images of negative facial expressions with masked backgrounds. Following this, the complete images which included context information, were shown. The negative expressions were either a result of an emotion-relevant (e.g., social exclusion) or emotion-irrelevant elicitor (e.g., weight lifting). Relative to controls, the clinical group showed elevated parietal LP during face processing with and without context information. Both groups differed in their frontal LP depending on the type of context. In SAD patients, frontal LP was lower in emotion-relevant than emotion-irrelevant contexts. We conclude that SAD patients direct more automatic attention towards negative facial expressions (parietal effect) and are less capable in integrating affective context information (frontal effect). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-E-CAMPUS-J-04: Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT): Review of Technical Standards and Credentialing in Radiotherapy Clinical Trials

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

Giaddui, T; Chen, W; Yu, J

2014-06-15

Purpose: To review IGRT credentialing experience and unexpected technical issues encountered in connection with advanced radiotherapy technologies as implemented in RTOG clinical trials. To update IGRT credentialing procedures with the aim of improving the quality of the process, and to increase the proportion of IGRT credentialing compliance. To develop a living disease site-specific IGRT encyclopedia. Methods: Numerous technical issues were encountered during the IGRT credentialing process. The criteria used for credentialing review were based on: image quality; anatomy included in fused data sets and shift results. Credentialing requirements have been updated according to the AAPM task group reports for IGRTmore » to ensure that all required technical items are included in the quality review process. Implementation instructions have been updated and expanded for recent protocols. Results: Technical issues observed during the credentialing review process include, but are not limited to: poor quality images; inadequate image acquisition region; poor data quality; shifts larger than acceptable; no soft tissue surrogate. The updated IGRT credentialing process will address these issues and will also include the technical items required from AAPM: TG 104; TG 142 and TG 179 reports. An instruction manual has been developed describing a remote credentialing method for reviewers. Submission requirements are updated, including images/documents as well as facility questionnaire. The review report now includes summary of the review process and the parameters that reviewers check. We have reached consensus on the minimum IGRT technical requirement for a number of disease sites. RTOG 1311(NRG-BR002A Phase 1 Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) for the Treatment of Multiple Metastases) is an example, here; the protocol specified the minimum requirement for each anatomical sites (with/without fiducials). Conclusion: Technical issues are identified and reported. IGRT guidelines are updated, with the corresponding credentialing requirements. An IGRT encyclopedia describing site-specific implementation issues is currently in development.« less

The 2014 interferometric imaging beauty contest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monnier, John D.; Berger, Jean-Philippe; Le Bouquin, Jean-Baptiste; Tuthill, Peter G.; Wittkowski, Markus; Grellmann, Rebekka; Müller, André; Renganswany, Sridhar; Hummel, Christian; Hofmann, Karl-Heinz; Schertl, Dieter; Weigelt, Gerd; Young, John; Buscher, David; Sanchez-Bermudez, Joel; Alberdi, Antxon; Schoedel, Rainer; Köhler, Rainer; Soulez, Ferréol; Thiébaut, Éric; Kluska, Jacques; Malbet, Fabien; Duvert, Gilles; Kraus, Stefan; Kloppenborg, Brian K.; Baron, Fabien; de Wit, Willem-Jan; Rivinius, Thomas; Merand, Antoine

2014-07-01

Here we present the results of the 6th biennial optical interferometry imaging beauty contest. Taking advantage of a unique opportunity, the red supergiant VY CMa and the Mira variable R Car were observed in the astronomical H-band with three 4-telescope configurations of the VLTI-AT array using the PIONIER instrument. The community was invited to participate in the subsequent image reconstruction and interpretation phases of the project. Ten groups submitted entries to the beauty contest, and we found reasonable consistency between images obtained from independent workers using quite different algorithms. We also found that significant differences existed between the submitted images, much greater than in past beauty contests that were all based on simulated data. A novel crowd-sourcing" method allowed consensus median images to be constructed, filtering likely artifacts and retaining real features." We definitively detect strong spots on the surfaces of both stars as well as distinct circumstellar shells of emission (likely water/CO) around R Car. In a close contest, Joel Sanchez (IAA-CSIC/Spain) was named the winner of the 2014 interferometric imaging beauty contest. This process has shown that new comers" can use publicly-available imaging software to interpret VLTI/PIONIER imaging data, as long as sufficient observations are taken to have complete uv coverage { a luxury that is often missing. We urge proposers to request adequate observing nights to collect sufficient data for imaging and for time allocation committees to recognise the importance of uv coverage for reliable interpretation of interferometric data. We believe that the result of the proposed broad international project will contribute to inspiring trust in the image reconstruction processes in optical interferometry.

Neural correlates of reward and loss sensitivity in psychopathy.

PubMed

Pujara, Maia; Motzkin, Julian C; Newman, Joseph P; Kiehl, Kent A; Koenigs, Michael

2014-06-01

Psychopathy is a personality disorder associated with callous and impulsive behavior and criminal recidivism. It has long been theorized that psychopaths have deficits in processing reward and punishment. Here, we use structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural correlates of reward and loss sensitivity in a group of criminal psychopaths. Forty-one adult male prison inmates (n = 18 psychopaths and n = 23 non-psychopaths) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging task involving the gain or loss of money. Across the entire sample of participants, monetary gains elicited robust activation within the ventral striatum (VS). Although psychopaths and non-psychopaths did not significantly differ with respect to overall levels of VS response to reward vs loss, we observed significantly different correlations between VS responses and psychopathy severity within each group. Volumetric analyses of striatal subregions revealed a similar pattern of correlations, specifically for the right accumbens area within VS. In a separate sample of inmates (n = 93 psychopaths and n = 117 non-psychopaths) who completed a self-report measure of appetitive motivation, we again found that the correlation with psychopathy severity differed between groups. These convergent results offer novel insight into the neural substrates of reward and loss processing in psychopathy. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The extensor digitorum brevis: histological and histochemical aspects

PubMed Central

Jennekens, F. G. I.; Tomlinson, B. E.; Walton, J. N.

1972-01-01

Samples of the extensor digitorum brevis muscle (EDB) obtained at necropsy from 26 subjects without known neuromuscular disease were examined histologically and histochemically. In the two youngest subjects, aged 2 months and 8 years, a mosaic distribution of type I and type II fibres was present. From the second decade onwards, increasing with age, the mosaic pattern was gradually replaced by groups of type I and type II fibres and areas of grouped fibre atrophy appeared. It is suggested that these findings may be explained by a slow process of denervation and reinnervation. This process does not seem to occur to the same extent in three other distal limb muscles from which specimens were also examined. Images PMID:4260286

Comparing diffuse optical tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging signals during a cognitive task: pilot study

PubMed Central

Hernández-Martin, Estefania; Marcano, Francisco; Casanova, Oscar; Modroño, Cristian; Plata-Bello, Julio; González-Mora, Jose Luis

2017-01-01

Abstract. Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) measures concentration changes in both oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin providing three-dimensional images of local brain activations. A pilot study, which compares both DOT and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) volumes through t-maps given by canonical statistical parametric mapping (SPM) processing for both data modalities, is presented. The DOT series were processed using a method that is based on a Bayesian filter application on raw DOT data to remove physiological changes and minimum description length application index to select a number of singular values, which reduce the data dimensionality during image reconstruction and adaptation of DOT volume series to normalized standard space. Therefore, statistical analysis is performed with canonical SPM software in the same way as fMRI analysis is done, accepting DOT volumes as if they were fMRI volumes. The results show the reproducibility and ruggedness of the method to process DOT series on group analysis using cognitive paradigms on the prefrontal cortex. Difficulties such as the fact that scalp–brain distances vary between subjects or cerebral activations are difficult to reproduce due to strategies used by the subjects to solve arithmetic problems are considered. T-images given by fMRI and DOT volume series analyzed in SPM show that at the functional level, both DOT and fMRI measures detect the same areas, although DOT provides complementary information to fMRI signals about cerebral activity. PMID:28386575

Feature-based Alignment of Volumetric Multi-modal Images

PubMed Central

Toews, Matthew; Zöllei, Lilla; Wells, William M.

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a method for aligning image volumes acquired from different imaging modalities (e.g. MR, CT) based on 3D scale-invariant image features. A novel method for encoding invariant feature geometry and appearance is developed, based on the assumption of locally linear intensity relationships, providing a solution to poor repeatability of feature detection in different image modalities. The encoding method is incorporated into a probabilistic feature-based model for multi-modal image alignment. The model parameters are estimated via a group-wise alignment algorithm, that iteratively alternates between estimating a feature-based model from feature data, then realigning feature data to the model, converging to a stable alignment solution with few pre-processing or pre-alignment requirements. The resulting model can be used to align multi-modal image data with the benefits of invariant feature correspondence: globally optimal solutions, high efficiency and low memory usage. The method is tested on the difficult RIRE data set of CT, T1, T2, PD and MP-RAGE brain images of subjects exhibiting significant inter-subject variability due to pathology. PMID:24683955

Molecular Imaging of Breast Cancer: Present and future directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcantara, David; Pernia Leal, Manuel; Garcia, Irene; Garcia-Martin, Maria Luisa

2014-12-01

Medical imaging technologies have undergone explosive growth over the past few decades and now play a central role in clinical oncology. But the truly transformative power of imaging in the clinical management of cancer patients lies ahead. Today, imaging is at a crossroads, with molecularly targeted imaging agents expected to broadly expand the capabilities of conventional anatomical imaging methods. Molecular imaging will allow clinicians to not only see where a tumour is located in the body, but also to visualize the expression and activity of specific molecules (e.g. proteases and protein kinases) and biological processes (e.g. apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis) that influence tumour behavior and/or response to therapy. Breast cancer, the most common cancer among women and a research area where our group is actively involved, is a very heterogeneous disease with diverse patterns of development and response to treatment. Hence, molecular imaging is expected to have a major impact on this type of cancer, leading to important improvements in diagnosis, individualized treatment, and drug development, as well as our understanding of how breast cancer arises.

An Efficient Computational Framework for the Analysis of Whole Slide Images: Application to Follicular Lymphoma Immunohistochemistry

PubMed Central

Samsi, Siddharth; Krishnamurthy, Ashok K.; Gurcan, Metin N.

2012-01-01

Follicular Lymphoma (FL) is one of the most common non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in the United States. Diagnosis and grading of FL is based on the review of histopathological tissue sections under a microscope and is influenced by human factors such as fatigue and reader bias. Computer-aided image analysis tools can help improve the accuracy of diagnosis and grading and act as another tool at the pathologist’s disposal. Our group has been developing algorithms for identifying follicles in immunohistochemical images. These algorithms have been tested and validated on small images extracted from whole slide images. However, the use of these algorithms for analyzing the entire whole slide image requires significant changes to the processing methodology since the images are relatively large (on the order of 100k × 100k pixels). In this paper we discuss the challenges involved in analyzing whole slide images and propose potential computational methodologies for addressing these challenges. We discuss the use of parallel computing tools on commodity clusters and compare performance of the serial and parallel implementations of our approach. PMID:22962572

Impacting key performance indicators in an academic MR imaging department through process improvement.

PubMed

Recht, Michael; Macari, Michael; Lawson, Kirk; Mulholland, Tom; Chen, David; Kim, Danny; Babb, James

2013-03-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate all aspects of workflow in a large academic MRI department to determine whether process improvement (PI) efforts could improve key performance indicators (KPIs). KPI metrics in the investigators' MR imaging department include daily inpatient backlogs, on-time performance for outpatient examinations, examination volumes, appointment backlogs for pediatric anesthesia cases, and scan duration relative to time allotted for an examination. Over a 3-week period in April 2011, key members of the MR imaging department (including technologists, nurses, schedulers, physicians, and administrators) tracked all aspects of patient flow through the department, from scheduling to examination interpretation. Data were analyzed by the group to determine where PI could improve KPIs. Changes to MRI workflow were subsequently implemented, and KPIs were compared before (January 1, 2011, to April 30, 2011) and after (August 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011) using Mann-Whitney and Fisher's exact tests. The data analysis done during this PI led to multiple changes in the daily workflow of the MR department. In addition, a new sense of teamwork and empowerment was established within the MR staff. All of the measured KPIs showed statistically significant changes after the reengineering project. Intradepartmental PI efforts can significantly affect KPI metrics within an MR imaging department, making the process more patient centered. In addition, the process allowed significant growth without the need for additional equipment or personnel. Copyright © 2013 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhanced Images for Checked and Carry-on Baggage and Cargo Screening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodell, Glenn; Rahman, Zia-ur; Jobson, Daniel J.; Hines, Glenn

2004-01-01

The current X-ray systems used by airport security personnel for the detection of contraband, and objects such as knives and guns that can impact the security of a flight, have limited effect because of the limited display quality of the X-ray images. Since the displayed images do not possess optimal contrast and sharpness, it is possible for the security personnel to miss potentially hazardous objects. This problem is also common to other disciplines such as medical Xrays, and can be mitigated, to a large extent, by the use of state-of-the-art image processing techniques to enhance the contrast and sharpness of the displayed image. The NASA Langley Research Center's Visual Information Processing Group has developed an image enhancement technology that has direct applications to this problem of inadequate display quality. Airport security X-ray imaging systems would benefit considerably by using this novel technology, making the task of the personnel who have to interpret the X-ray images considerably easier, faster, and more reliable. This improvement would translate into more accurate screening as well as minimizing the screening time delays to airline passengers. This technology, Retinex, has been optimized for consumer applications but has been applied to medical X-rays on a very preliminary basis. The resultant technology could be incorporated into a new breed of commercial x-ray imaging systems which would be transparent to the screener yet allow them to see subtle detail much more easily, reducing the amount of time needed for screening while greatly increasing the effectiveness of contraband detection and thus public safety.

Enhanced Images for Checked and Carry-on Baggage and Cargo Screening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodell, Glen; Rahman, Zia-ur; Jobson, Daniel J.; Hines, Glenn

2004-01-01

The current X-ray systems used by airport security personnel for the detection of contraband, and objects such as knives and guns that can impact the security of a flight, have limited effect because of the limited display quality of the X-ray images. Since the displayed images do not possess optimal contrast and sharpness, it is possible for the security personnel to miss potentially hazardous objects. This problem is also common to other disciplines such as medical X-rays, and can be mitigated, to a large extent, by the use of state-of-the-art image processing techniques to enhance the contrast and sharpness of the displayed image. The NASA Langley Research Centers Visual Information Processing Group has developed an image enhancement technology that has direct applications to this problem of inadequate display quality. Airport security X-ray imaging systems would benefit considerably by using this novel technology, making the task of the personnel who have to interpret the X-ray images considerably easier, faster, and more reliable. This improvement would translate into more accurate screening as well as minimizing the screening time delays to airline passengers. This technology, Retinex, has been optimized for consumer applications but has been applied to medical X-rays on a very preliminary basis. The resultant technology could be incorporated into a new breed of commercial x-ray imaging systems which would be transparent to the screener yet allow them to see subtle detail much more easily, reducing the amount of time needed for screening while greatly increasing the effectiveness of contraband detection and thus public safety.

Impacts of Cross-Platform Vicarious Calibration on the Deep Blue Aerosol Retrievals for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Aboard Terra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeong, Myeong-Jae; Hsu, N. Christina; Kwiatkowska, Ewa J.; Franz, Bryan A.; Meister, Gerhard; Salustro, Clare E.

2012-01-01

The retrieval of aerosol properties from spaceborne sensors requires highly accurate and precise radiometric measurements, thus placing stringent requirements on sensor calibration and characterization. For the Terra/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spedroradiometer (MODIS), the characteristics of the detectors of certain bands, particularly band 8 [(B8); 412 nm], have changed significantly over time, leading to increased calibration uncertainty. In this paper, we explore a possibility of utilizing a cross-calibration method developed for characterizing the Terral MODIS detectors in the ocean bands by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ocean Biology Processing Group to improve aerosol retrieval over bright land surfaces. We found that the Terra/MODIS B8 reflectance corrected using the cross calibration method resulted in significant improvements for the retrieved aerosol optical thickness when compared with that from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer, Aqua/MODIS, and the Aerosol Robotic Network. The method reported in this paper is implemented for the operational processing of the Terra/MODIS Deep Blue aerosol products.

Gender differences in the motivational processing of facial beauty☆

PubMed Central

Levy, Boaz; Ariely, Dan; Mazar, Nina; Chi, Won; Lukas, Scott; Elman, Igor

2013-01-01

Gender may be involved in the motivational processing of facial beauty. This study applied a behavioral probe, known to activate brain motivational regions, to healthy heterosexual subjects. Matched samples of men and women were administered two tasks: (a) key pressing to change the viewing time of average or beautiful female or male facial images, and (b) rating the attractiveness of these images. Men expended more effort (via the key-press task) to extend the viewing time of the beautiful female faces. Women displayed similarly increased effort for beautiful male and female images, but the magnitude of this effort was substantially lower than that of men for beautiful females. Heterosexual facial attractiveness ratings were comparable in both groups. These findings demonstrate heterosexual specificity of facial motivational targets for men, but not for women. Moreover, heightened drive for the pursuit of heterosexual beauty in the face of regular valuational assessments, displayed by men, suggests a gender-specific incentive sensitization phenomenon. PMID:24282336

A method to classify schizophrenia using inter-task spatial correlations of functional brain images.

PubMed

Michael, Andrew M; Calhoun, Vince D; Andreasen, Nancy C; Baum, Stefi A

2008-01-01

The clinical heterogeneity of schizophrenia (scz) and the overlap of self reported and observed symptoms with other mental disorders makes its diagnosis a difficult task. At present no laboratory-based or image-based diagnostic tool for scz exists and such tools are desired to support existing methods for more precise diagnosis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is currently employed to identify and correlate cognitive processes related to scz and its symptoms. Fusion of multiple fMRI tasks that probe different cognitive processes may help to better understand hidden networks of this complex disorder. In this paper we utilize three different fMRI tasks and introduce an approach to classify subjects based on inter-task spatial correlations of brain activation. The technique was applied to groups of patients and controls and its validity was checked with the leave-one-out method. We show that the classification rate increases when information from multiple tasks are combined.

Melanoma detection using a mobile phone app

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diniz, Luciano E.; Ennser, K.

2016-03-01

Mobile phones have had their processing power greatly increased since their invention a few decades ago. As a direct result of Moore's Law, this improvement has made available several applications that were impossible before. The aim of this project is to develop a mobile phone app, integrated with its camera coupled to an amplifying lens, to help distinguish melanoma. The proposed device has the capability of processing skin mole images and suggesting, using a score system, if it is a case of melanoma or not. This score system is based on the ABCDE signs of melanoma, and takes into account the area, the perimeter and the colors present in the nevus. It was calibrated and tested using images from the PH2 Dermoscopic Image Database from Pedro Hispano Hospital. The results show that the system created can be useful, with an accuracy of up to 100% for malign cases and 80% for benign cases (including common and atypical moles), when used in the test group.

Conventional and digital radiographic assessment of tooth enamel de-/remineralization processes: an experimental study.

PubMed

Leite-Ribeiro, Patrícia; de Oliveira, Thais Feitosa Leitão; Mathias, Paula; Campo, Elisângela de Jesus; Sarmento, Viviane Almeida

2014-01-01

This study aimed to compare digital techniques for evaluating dental enamel de-/remineralization. Sixty extracted molars were subjected to a process of de- and remineralization. Radiographs were taken before and after each stage. These radiographs were evaluated by the conventional method and were then scanned and analyzed either with or without the use of image enhancement. Moreover, the gray levels (GLs) of the affected areas were measured. All methods exhibited low sensitivity and identical levels of specificity (99.4%). Analysis of the grayscale levels found statistically significant differences between the initial radiographs (P < 0.05). The mean GL of the carious group was significantly lower than that of the remineralized group. The GL did not differ significantly between the initial and final radiographs of the remineralized group, although the mean of the first group was lower than that of the second, which demonstrated that the remineralization process restored the normal density of the dental enamel. Measurement of the mean GL was sufficiently sensitive to detect small alterations in the surface of the enamel.

Laser Raman detection for oral cancer based on an adaptive Gaussian process classification method with posterior probabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Zhanwei; Yang, Yongjian; Bai, Yuan; Wang, Lijun; Su, Le; Chen, Yong; Li, Xianchang; Zhou, Xiaodong; Jia, Jun; Shen, Aiguo; Hu, Jiming

2013-03-01

The existing methods for early and differential diagnosis of oral cancer are limited due to the unapparent early symptoms and the imperfect imaging examination methods. In this paper, the classification models of oral adenocarcinoma, carcinoma tissues and a control group with just four features are established by utilizing the hybrid Gaussian process (HGP) classification algorithm, with the introduction of the mechanisms of noise reduction and posterior probability. HGP shows much better performance in the experimental results. During the experimental process, oral tissues were divided into three groups, adenocarcinoma (n = 87), carcinoma (n = 100) and the control group (n = 134). The spectral data for these groups were collected. The prospective application of the proposed HGP classification method improved the diagnostic sensitivity to 56.35% and the specificity to about 70.00%, and resulted in a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.36. It is proved that the utilization of HGP in LRS detection analysis for the diagnosis of oral cancer gives accurate results. The prospect of application is also satisfactory.

TU-CD-BRB-10: 18F-FDG PET Image-Derived Tumor Features Highlight Altered Pathways Identified by Trancriptomic Analysis in Head and Neck Cancer

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

Tixier, F; INSERM UMR1101 LaTIM, Brest; Cheze-Le-Rest, C

2015-06-15

Purpose: Several quantitative features can be extracted from 18F-FDG PET images, such as standardized uptake values (SUVs), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), shape characterization (SC) or intra-tumor radiotracer heterogeneity quantification (HQ). Some of these features calculated from baseline 18F-FDG PET images have shown a prognostic and predictive clinical value. It has been hypothesized that these features highlight underlying tumor patho-physiological processes at smaller scales. The objective of this study was to investigate the ability of recovering alterations of signaling pathways from FDG PET image-derived features. Methods: 52 patients were prospectively recruited from two medical centers (Brest and Poitiers). All patients underwentmore » an FDG PET scan for staging and biopsies of both healthy and primary tumor tissues. Biopsies went through a transcriptomic analysis performed in four spates on 4×44k chips (Agilent™). Primary tumors were delineated in the PET images using the Fuzzy Locally Adaptive Bayesian algorithm and characterized using 10 features including SUVs, SC and HQ. A module network algorithm followed by functional annotation was exploited in order to link PET features with signaling pathways alterations. Results: Several PET-derived features were found to discriminate differentially expressed genes between tumor and healthy tissue (fold-change >2, p<0.01) into 30 co-regulated groups (p<0.05). Functional annotations applied to these groups of genes highlighted associations with well-known pathways involved in cancer processes, such as cell proliferation and apoptosis, as well as with more specific ones such as unsaturated fatty acids. Conclusion: Quantitative features extracted from baseline 18F-FDG PET images usually exploited only for diagnosis and staging, were identified in this work as being related to specific altered pathways and may show promise as tools for personalizing treatment decisions.« less

Group Analysis in MNE-Python of Evoked Responses from a Tactile Stimulation Paradigm: A Pipeline for Reproducibility at Every Step of Processing, Going from Individual Sensor Space Representations to an across-Group Source Space Representation

PubMed Central

Andersen, Lau M.

2018-01-01

An important aim of an analysis pipeline for magnetoencephalographic data is that it allows for the researcher spending maximal effort on making the statistical comparisons that will answer the questions of the researcher, while in turn spending minimal effort on the intricacies and machinery of the pipeline. I here present a set of functions and scripts that allow for setting up a clear, reproducible structure for separating raw and processed data into folders and files such that minimal effort can be spend on: (1) double-checking that the right input goes into the right functions; (2) making sure that output and intermediate steps can be accessed meaningfully; (3) applying operations efficiently across groups of subjects; (4) re-processing data if changes to any intermediate step are desirable. Applying the scripts requires only general knowledge about the Python language. The data analyses are neural responses to tactile stimulations of the right index finger in a group of 20 healthy participants acquired from an Elekta Neuromag System. Two analyses are presented: going from individual sensor space representations to, respectively, an across-group sensor space representation and an across-group source space representation. The processing steps covered for the first analysis are filtering the raw data, finding events of interest in the data, epoching data, finding and removing independent components related to eye blinks and heart beats, calculating participants' individual evoked responses by averaging over epoched data and calculating a grand average sensor space representation over participants. The second analysis starts from the participants' individual evoked responses and covers: estimating noise covariance, creating a forward model, creating an inverse operator, estimating distributed source activity on the cortical surface using a minimum norm procedure, morphing those estimates onto a common cortical template and calculating the patterns of activity that are statistically different from baseline. To estimate source activity, processing of the anatomy of subjects based on magnetic resonance imaging is necessary. The necessary steps are covered here: importing magnetic resonance images, segmenting the brain, estimating boundaries between different tissue layers, making fine-resolution scalp surfaces for facilitating co-registration, creating source spaces and creating volume conductors for each subject. PMID:29403349

Group Analysis in MNE-Python of Evoked Responses from a Tactile Stimulation Paradigm: A Pipeline for Reproducibility at Every Step of Processing, Going from Individual Sensor Space Representations to an across-Group Source Space Representation.

PubMed

Andersen, Lau M

2018-01-01

An important aim of an analysis pipeline for magnetoencephalographic data is that it allows for the researcher spending maximal effort on making the statistical comparisons that will answer the questions of the researcher, while in turn spending minimal effort on the intricacies and machinery of the pipeline. I here present a set of functions and scripts that allow for setting up a clear, reproducible structure for separating raw and processed data into folders and files such that minimal effort can be spend on: (1) double-checking that the right input goes into the right functions; (2) making sure that output and intermediate steps can be accessed meaningfully; (3) applying operations efficiently across groups of subjects; (4) re-processing data if changes to any intermediate step are desirable. Applying the scripts requires only general knowledge about the Python language. The data analyses are neural responses to tactile stimulations of the right index finger in a group of 20 healthy participants acquired from an Elekta Neuromag System. Two analyses are presented: going from individual sensor space representations to, respectively, an across-group sensor space representation and an across-group source space representation. The processing steps covered for the first analysis are filtering the raw data, finding events of interest in the data, epoching data, finding and removing independent components related to eye blinks and heart beats, calculating participants' individual evoked responses by averaging over epoched data and calculating a grand average sensor space representation over participants. The second analysis starts from the participants' individual evoked responses and covers: estimating noise covariance, creating a forward model, creating an inverse operator, estimating distributed source activity on the cortical surface using a minimum norm procedure, morphing those estimates onto a common cortical template and calculating the patterns of activity that are statistically different from baseline. To estimate source activity, processing of the anatomy of subjects based on magnetic resonance imaging is necessary. The necessary steps are covered here: importing magnetic resonance images, segmenting the brain, estimating boundaries between different tissue layers, making fine-resolution scalp surfaces for facilitating co-registration, creating source spaces and creating volume conductors for each subject.

Decompressive L5 Transverse Processectomy for Bertolotti's Syndrome: A Preliminary Study.

PubMed

Ju, Chang Il; Kim, Seok Won; Kim, Jong Gyue; Lee, Seung Myung; Shin, Ho; Lee, Hyeun Young

2017-09-01

Bertolotti's syndrome is a spinal disorder characterized by abnormal enlargement of the transverse process of the most caudal lumbar vertebra. The L5 transverse process may be enlarged either unilaterally or bilaterally and may articulate or fuse with the sacrum or ilium. Pseudoarticulation between the transverse process of the L5 and the alar of the sacrum can cause buttock pain and leg pain. In addition, the L4 exiting nerve root could be compressed by an enlarged L5 transverse process. The authors could have obtained satisfactory results from the selected cases of Bertolotti's syndrome by applying a selective transverse processectomy of the L5. The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of L5 transverse processectomy for symptomatic Bertolotti's syndrome. A retrospective study. A total of 256 patients with Bertolotti's syndrome who had severe buttock pain and unilateral or bilateral radiating leg pain were selected. The correct diagnosis was made based on imaging studies which included computed tomography (CT), plain x-rays, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The final diagnosis was made by confirming pain relief from anesthetic block. A total of 87 patients were classified into 2 groups: group A included 50 patients whose pain was relieved by block into the pseudoarticulation and group B included 37 patients whose pain was relieved by block into the L4 exiting nerve root. A total of 61 cases (group A: 39 cases, group B: 22 cases) were selected as pure L5 transverse processectomy. The primary outcome measures were reduction in pain scores and improvement in quality of life. Among 61 patients, there were 19 men and 42 women. The mean age of the patients was 53.2 ± 12 years (group A: 57.8 ± 14 years [16 - 86 years], group B: 53.4 ± 14 years [27 - 77 years]). The mean follow-up period was 6.5 months. The patients' mean visual analog scale (VAS) prior to surgery was 7.54 ± 0.81 (group A: 7.59 ± 0.93, group B: 7.50 ± 0.86), and the mean postoperative VAS was 2.86 ± 1.67 (group A: 3.82 ± 1.59, group B: 2.05 ± 1.00). According to Macnab's criteria, 12 patients showed excellent results (group A: 3, group B: 9), 41 patients showed good results (group A: 11, group B: 30), 6 patients showed fair results (group A: 5, group B: 1), and 2 patients showed poor results (group A: 2, group B: 0). Thus, satisfactory results were achieved in 86.89% of the cases. In patients with Bertolotti's syndrome, pseudoarticulation as well as L4 nerve root compression can be the source of buttock pain and lower extremity pain. Bisectional cutting of the L5 transverse process and decompression of the L4 nerve root could be an optimal treatment for Bertolotti's syndrome, and it may be easily approached by the paraspinal approach. This is a retrospective study and only offers one-year follow-up data for patients with Bertolotti's syndrome who have undergone L5 transverse process resection.Key words: Bertolotti's syndrome, pseudoarticulation, L5 transverse processectomy, paraspinal approach.

A Generic Ground Framework for Image Expertise Centres and Small-Sized Production Centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sellé, A.

2009-05-01

Initiated by the Pleiadas Earth Observation Program, the CNES (French Space Agency) has developed a generic collaborative framework for its image quality centre, highly customisable for any upcoming expertise centre. This collaborative framework has been design to be used by a group of experts or scientists that want to share data and processings and manage interfaces with external entities. Its flexible and scalable architecture complies with the core requirements: defining a user data model with no impact on the software (generic access data), integrating user processings with a GUI builder and built-in APIs, and offering a scalable architecture to fit any preformance requirement and accompany growing projects. The CNES jas given licensing grants for two software companies that will be able to redistribute this framework to any customer.

Monitoring morphological changes in an arid zone by spaceborne images and aerial photography between 1945 - 2009; the Yamin Plateau, Israel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hetz, Guy; Blumberg, Dan; Avraham, Dody; Cohen, Hai

2010-05-01

This research focuses on a geomorphic mapping of the Yamin Plateau in southern Israel which is part of the Yamin-Rotem Syncline and covers about 200 km2. This area has been restricted since the 1950s and therefore, provides a unique opportunity to study undisturbed geomorphic processes. Nowadays, the national nuclear waste depository is located in this area accepting waste from industrial factories, research institutes and hospitals. This is the main reason why environmental processes are of major interest in terms of landform changes in space and time. The exposed geology section of the Yamin Plateau mostly consists of the Miocene Hazeva Group where sedimentary processes started 20 million years ago and continued for 12-14 million years. Two formations of the Miocene Hazeva Group appear in the study area Zefa and Rotem. The compositions of these two formations are similar and sometimes defined as "the main sand body" in the Hazeva Group. The restriction of the area stopped the grazing and let the development of a biological soil crust on the surface. The research objective was to document and characterize landform changes from 1945 until 2009 within the Yamin Plateau based on spaceborne images and aerial photography. All the parameters we extracted in the laboratory were validated with field measurements. A combination of the spaceborne images, aerial photography and field measurements leads us to the following conclusions: The research results show that soil stabilization processes took place earlier than the area closure. Inspite of decreasing precipitation tendencies as measured during the last 50 years in Yamin Plateau, the vegetation cover increased from 55% in 1945 to 67% in 2009. The main reason for this is the area closure and reduction in grazing along with developing of vegetation and biological soil crusts. Field studies and image processing of aerial photographs and recent QuickBird images alongside grain-size distribution show that in the past there were active zibar morphologies in the region. The most frequent grain-size of 350 μm supports this. Although the current geology map of the Yamin Plateau is characterized by sand soil texture, nowadays the study area surface contains 50% of clay minerals, which were probably trapped by soil crusts during dust storms. A grain size analysis shows the dominance of medium-coarse sand (350 μm) that partially mantle the Yamin Plateau surface. Aeolian activity that took place in the past and was concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the plateau and included linear zibars. We also present a new index, the Clay Crust Index (CCI) that includes the combination of the Crust Index and the 7-th band of the Landsat TM that covers the clay absorption range. The idea behind this combination is based on trapping of clays by biological soil crusts which deepens the absorption feature in the spectrum of 7-th band of the Landsat TM. From 1945 to 2004 there were no evidence that indicate aeolian nor fluvial activities. Yet, a single extreme rain event that took place in 29 October 2004 caused the largest landform changes in the past 60 years. The runoff widened in the eastern channel streams. To summarize, the study area's closure in the late 1950's had contributed to the decrease of aeolian processes. The fluvial processes are very limited, yet, when there is an unusually large rainstorm event there is a risk of undermining and extreme erosion processes, especially when the surface is covered by soil crusts and clay.

Unsupervised symmetrical trademark image retrieval in soccer telecast using wavelet energy and quadtree decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, Swee Khai; Lim, Wee Keong; Soo, Wooi King

2013-04-01

Trademark, a distinctive symbol, is used to distinguish products or services provided by a particular person, group or organization from other similar entries. As trademark represents the reputation and credit standing of the owner, it is important to differentiate one trademark from another. Many methods have been proposed to identify, classify and retrieve trademarks. However, most methods required features database and sample sets for training prior to recognition and retrieval process. In this paper, a new feature on wavelet coefficients, the localized wavelet energy, is introduced to extract features of trademarks. With this, unsupervised content-based symmetrical trademark image retrieval is proposed without the database and prior training set. The feature analysis is done by an integration of the proposed localized wavelet energy and quadtree decomposed regional symmetrical vector. The proposed framework eradicates the dependence on query database and human participation during the retrieval process. In this paper, trademarks for soccer games sponsors are the intended trademark category. Video frames from soccer telecast are extracted and processed for this study. Reasonably good localization and retrieval results on certain categories of trademarks are achieved. A distinctive symbol is used to distinguish products or services provided by a particular person, group or organization from other similar entries.

Functional brain imaging predicts public health campaign success

PubMed Central

O’Donnell, Matthew Brook; Tompson, Steven; Gonzalez, Richard; Dal Cin, Sonya; Strecher, Victor; Cummings, Kenneth Michael; An, Lawrence

2016-01-01

Mass media can powerfully affect health decision-making. Pre-testing through focus groups or surveys is a standard, though inconsistent, predictor of effectiveness. Converging evidence demonstrates that activity within brain systems associated with self-related processing can predict individual behavior in response to health messages. Preliminary evidence also suggests that neural activity in small groups can forecast population-level campaign outcomes. Less is known about the psychological processes that link neural activity and population-level outcomes, or how these predictions are affected by message content. We exposed 50 smokers to antismoking messages and used their aggregated neural activity within a ‘self-localizer’ defined region of medial prefrontal cortex to predict the success of the same campaign messages at the population level (n = 400 000 emails). Results demonstrate that: (i) independently localized neural activity during health message exposure complements existing self-report data in predicting population-level campaign responses (model combined R2 up to 0.65) and (ii) this relationship depends on message content—self-related neural processing predicts outcomes in response to strong negative arguments against smoking and not in response to compositionally similar neutral images. These data advance understanding of the psychological link between brain and large-scale behavior and may aid the construction of more effective media health campaigns. PMID:26400858