Stereological estimation of the total volume of MR visible brain lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis

Point counting represents a convenient and efficient technique for estimating the area of transects through multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions on magnetic resonance (MR) images obtained for sections through the brain. When sectioning has been performed according to the Cavalieri method, unbiased estimates of the total volume of MR-visible MS plaques can be obtained with a precision of 3–5% in 5–10 min.     

Small Noncoding RNAs in Knee Osteoarthritis: The Role of MicroRNAs and tRNA-Derived Fragments

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative knee joint disease that results from the breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone, affecting about 3.3% of the world’s population. As OA is a multifactorial disease, the underlying pathological process is closely associated with genetic changes in articular cartilage and bone. Many studies have focused on the role of small noncoding RNAs in OA and identified numbers of microRNAs that play important roles in regulating bone and cartilage homeostasis. The connection between other types of small noncoding RNAs, especially tRNA-derived fragments and knee osteoarthritis is still elusive. The observation that there is limited information about small RNAs different than miRNAs in knee OA was very surprising to us, especially given the fact that tRNA fragments are known to participate in a plethora of human diseases and a portion of them are even more abundant than miRNAs. Inspired by these findings, in this review we have summarized the possible involvement of microRNAs and tRNA-derived fragments in the pathology of knee osteoarthritis.     

基于各向异性滤波和空间FCM的MRI图像分割方法

针对具复杂目标和边界模糊的MRI图像中多感兴趣区域的分割中分割MRI图像软组织难的问题, 提出了一种基于各向异性滤波和空间模糊C-均值聚类(SFCM)的MRI图像分割方法; 用新型各向异性滤波对图像进行预处理, 解决去噪平滑的同时弱化图像细节的问题; 用邻域空间信息设计空间函数, 改进传统FCM的目标函数; 用图像的空间信息实现图像各目标准确分类、有效解决孤立区域的正确归类问题, 进而使分割区域完整; 用直方图拟合曲线初始化分类数和初始聚类中心, 加快算法迭代到最优解, 进而减少运行时间。通过实验证实了各向异性滤波和空间FCM的MRI图像分割方法的综合应用显著提高了分割灰度重叠、目标不连续和目标边界模糊的MRI图像的分割效果。     

4D MRI Flow Coupled to Physics‐Based Fluid Simulation for Blood‐Flow Visualization

Modern MRI measurements deliver volumetric and time‐varying blood‐flow data of unprecedented quality. Visual analysis of these data potentially leads to a better diagnosis and risk assessment of various cardiovascular diseases. Recent advances have improved the speed and quality of the imaging data considerably. Nevertheless, the data remains compromised by noise and a lack of spatiotemporal resolution. Besides imaging data, also numerical simulations are employed. These are based on mathematical models of specific features of physical reality. However, these models require realistic parameters and boundary conditions based on measurements. We propose to use data assimilation to bring measured data and physically‐based simulation together, and to harness the mutual benefits. The accuracy and noise robustness of the coupled approach is validated using an analytic flow field. Furthermore, we present a comparative visualization that conveys the differences between using conventional interpolation and our coupled approach.     

Seg-CapNet：心脏MRI图像分割神经网络模型

目的 针对现有神经网络模型需要对左心室心肌内膜和外膜单独建模的问题,本文提出了一种基于胶囊结构的心脏磁共振图像（magnetic resonance imaging,MRI）分割模型Seg-CapNet,旨在同时提取心肌内膜和外膜,并保证两者的空间位置关系。方法 首先利用胶囊网络将待分割目标转换成包含目标相对位置、颜色以及大小等信息的向量,然后使用全连接将这些向量的空间关系进行重组,最后采用反卷积对特征图进行上采样,将分割图还原为输入图像尺寸。在上采样过程中将每层特征图与卷积层的特征图进行连接,有助于图像细节还原以及模型的反向传播,加快训练过程。Seg-CapNet的输出向量不仅有图像的灰度、纹理等底层图像特征,还包含目标的位置、大小等语义特征,有效提升了目标图像的分割精度。为了进一步提高分割质量,还提出了一种新的损失函数用于约束分割结果以保持多目标区域间的相对位置关系。结果 在ACDC（automated cardiac diagnosis challenge）2017、MICCAI（medical image computing and computer-assisted intervention）2013和MICCAI2009等3个心脏MRI分割竞赛的公开数据集上对Seg-CapNet模型进行训练和验证,并与神经网络分割模型U-net和SegNet进行对比。实验结果表明,相对于U-Net和SegNet,Seg-CapNet同时分割目标重叠区域的平均Dice系数提升了3.5%,平均豪斯多夫距离（Hausdorff distance,HD）降低了18%。并且Seg-CapNet的参数量仅为U-Net的54%、SegNet的40%,在提升分割精度的同时,降低了训练时间和复杂度。结论 本文提出的Seg-CapNet模型在保证同时分割重叠区域目标的同时,降低了参数量,提升了训练速度,并保持了较好的左心室心肌内膜和外膜分割精度。     

配置500 MPa纵筋钢筋混凝土框架顶层端节点抗震性能试验研究

按照《混凝土结构设计规范》(GB 50010—2010)设计了6个配置500 MPa纵筋的钢筋混凝土框架顶层端节点,并进行了低周反复加载抗震性能试验,验证了规范规定的抗震措施对配置500 MPa钢筋的顶层端节点的有效性,分析了配置500 MPa级钢筋的顶层端节点的受力特点、节点区的破坏形态以及节点的综合抗震性能,并与受力条件基本相同的配置HRB335级纵筋节点的受力性能进行了对比,对采用不同延性指标评价配置不同强度钢筋节点的延性性能差异进行了讨论。     

Segmentation of the left ventricle in cardiac cine MRI using a shape-constrained snake model

Segmentation of the left ventricle (LV) is a hot topic in cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) images analysis. In this paper, we present an automatic LV myocardial boundary segmentation method using the parametric active contour model (or snake model). By convolving the gradient map of an image, a fast external force named gradient vector convolution (GVC) is presented for the snake model. A circle-based energy is incorporated into the GVC snake model to extract the endocardium. With this prior constraint, the snake contour can conquer the unexpected local minimum stemming from artifacts and papillary muscle, etc. After the endocardium is detected, the original edge map around and within the endocardium is directly set to zero. This modified edge map is used to generate a new GVC force filed, which automatically pushes the snake contour directly to the epicardium by employing the endocardium result as initialization. Meanwhile, a novel shape-similarity based energy is proposed to prevent the snake contour from being strapped in faulty edges and to preserve weak boundaries. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations on our dataset and the publicly available database (e.g. MICCAI 2009) demonstrate the good performance of our algorithm.     

Design and control of a planar bipedal robot ERNIE with parallel knee compliance

This paper presents the development of the planar bipedal robot ERNIE as well as numerical and experimental studies of the influence of parallel knee joint compliance on the energetic efficiency of walking in ERNIE. ERNIE has 5 links—a torso, two femurs and two tibias—and is configured to walk on a treadmill so that it can walk indefinitely in a confined space. Springs can be attached across the knee joints in parallel with the knee actuators. The hybrid zero dynamics framework serves as the basis for control of ERNIE’s walking. In the investigation of the effects of compliance on the energetic efficiency of walking, four cases were studied: one without springs and three with springs of different stiffnesses and preloads. It was found that for low-speed walking, the addition of soft springs may be used to increase energetic efficiency, while stiffer springs decrease the energetic efficiency. For high-speed walking, the addition of either soft or stiff springs increases the energetic efficiency of walking, while stiffer springs improve the energetic efficiency more than do softer springs. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

虚拟膝关节手术中的实时大范围形变方法

虚拟膝关节手术过程中要求对膝关节3D几何模型进行实时的大范围形变,而形变的特点,包括总体轮廓、细节保持、实时性、平滑性以及拓扑性等都影响到它的真实感。针对膝关节3D模型得到了一种新的形变方法,根据模型的横截面构建出模型的骨架,并利用柱坐标的变换来实现大范围形变,使形变能保持良好的局部细节特征,算法能满足虚拟手术的实时性和真实感的要求。该方法也能推广应用于其他类似的关节弯曲运动的实时变形。