Method of simulating dose reduction for digital radiographic systems

The optimisation of image quality vs. radiation dose is an important task in medical imaging. To obtain maximum validity of the optimisation, it must be based on clinical images. Images at different dose levels can then either be obtained by collecting patient images at the different dose levels sought to investigate-including additional exposures and permission from an ethical committee-or by manipulating images to simulate different dose levels. The aim of the present work was to develop a method of simulating dose reduction for digital radiographic systems. The method uses information about the detective quantum efficiency and noise power spectrum at the original and simulated dose levels to create an image containing filtered noise. When added to the original image this results in an image with noise which, in terms of frequency content, agrees with the noise present in an image collected at the simulated dose level. To increase the validity, the method takes local dose variations in the original image into account. The method was tested on a computed radiography system and was shown to produce images with noise behaviour similar to that of images actually collected at the simulated dose levels. The method can, therefore, be used to modify an image collected at one dose level so that it simulates an image of the same object collected at any lower dose level.     

Single Side Imaging of Corrosion Under Insulation Using Single Photon Gamma Backscattering

In this work, a gamma ray Compton backscatter technique is used for imaging defects and thickness variations in insulated pipes and metal plates containing depressions of various diameters and at various depths from one side of the object. The scattered radiation was measured by a scintillation detector that scans the object using a two-dimensional mechanical scanning system. The gamma spectrum was displayed with a multichannel analyzer (MCA), and the energy window width was selected so that only Compton single scatter counts were measured. Images were constructed using the LabVIEW computer program. Successful images of defects on the outer surface of the object under the insulation were obtained, and the system was found to be able to detect wall thickness changes in large pipes with walls more than 15 mm thick. Low activity sources of 10⁸ Bq (a few mCi) were used, and the dose rate near the surface is four orders of magnitude lower than conventional industrial radiography sources, permitting it to be much safer.     

Quantitative real-time imaging of myocardium based on ultrasonic integrated backscatter

The integrated backscatter calculation over the full, two-dimensional echocardiographic sector is implemented to produce images from closed-chest dogs. This new real-time integrated backscatter measurement system allows a continuous determination of integrated backscatter from all myocardial regions in the ultrasonic view. By replacing the conventional video processor in a commercial two-dimensional echocardiographic imager with this new real-time backscatter measurement system, it is possible to produce real-time two-dimensional images based on integrated backscatter.     

Thermal Image Degradation Through a Heated Sapphire Window

Optical windows are indispensable for monitoring industrial processes under vacuum or high pressure by using thermal imagers and radiation thermometers. When a thermal imager observes a sample through an infrared window at elevated temperatures, the window emits additional thermal radiation and increases the background signal of the thermal images, which results in image degradation. Standard four-bar images with various radiance temperature differences were measured using a thermal imager with a spectral band from 3 ??m to 5 ??m through a UV-grade sapphire window. The four-bar images are given by a blackbody collimator with various image patterns. The window was indirectly heated in a furnace and then rapidly placed on the optical path between the collimator and the thermal imager. The four-bar image degradation was measured as a function of the window temperature and the radiance temperature difference of the four-bar pattern. A simple equation which describes the contrast of the four-bar image by using the transmittance and reflectance of the sapphire window was proposed. It was confirmed that the model can properly predict the window temperature when the appearance of the four-bar pattern cannot be determined.     

A Magnifying Glass for Virtual Imaging of Subwavelength Resolution by Transformation Optics

Traditional magnifying glasses can give magnified virtual images with diffraction‐limited resolution, that is, detailed information is lost. Here, a novel magnifying glass by transformation optics, referred to as a “superresolution magnifying glass” (SMG) is designed, which can produce magnified virtual images with a predetermined magnification factor and resolve subwavelength details (i.e., light sources with subwavelength distances can be resolved). Based on theoretical calculations and reductions, a metallic plate structure to produce the reduced SMG in microwave frequencies, which gives good performance verified by both numerical simulations and experimental results, is proposed and realized. The function of SMG is to create a superresolution virtual image, unlike traditional superresolution imaging devices that create real images. The proposed SMG will create a new branch of superresolution imaging technology.     

An Automatic Evaluation System for Contrast‐Detail Phantom Images in Digital Radiography

Currently, contrast‐detail phantom (CD phantom) images are widely used to assist medical experts for diagnosis, because these images can be used to study imaging quality and assess the radiation dose amount for digital X‐ray imaging systems. However, the quality of the CD phantom image varies from person to person, increasing the possibility of false diagnosis. In this article, we propose an automatic evaluation system to measure the quality of a phantom image an alternative to assessment by radiologists. The proposed method is based on bilinear pixel interpolation, geometric transformation, and region shifting to efficiently and objectively evaluate the quality of a phantom image. Moreover, misjudgment modification is also proposed to further improve the recognition accuracy. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the proposed method is very close to that of the radiologists observations. The results have also proven that the proposed method is a feasible way to evaluate the quality of a phantom image in an objective and automatic manner.     

A review of X-ray imaging phosphors

The important methods of X-ray imaging use various phosphors. The phosphors give light proportional to the amount of radiation. The light is emitted either as X-ray excited fluorescence, phosphorescence, or due to stimulated, radiative recombinations of defects generated by X-ray exposures. The role of phosphors in improving image quality and reducing exposures to patients is important. Properties of various phosphors which can be used for X-ray imaging applications are reviewed here.     

Multimodal atomic force microscopy: Biological imaging using atomic force microscopy combined with light fluorescence and confocal microscopies and electrophysiologic recording

Because the atomic force microscope (AFM) allows molecular resolution imaging of hydrated specimens, it provides a unique window to the microscopic biological world. A high signal-to-noise ratio in AFM images sets them apart from the images obtained from other techniques: One does not need extensive image analyses often required by other techniques to obtain high-resolution information. AFM can provide molecular details on crystalline as well as amorphous materials. However, it is often limited in providing identity of the imaged structures, especially in a complex system such as a cellular membrane. AFM's application for biological imaging will rely on an unambiguous identification of imaged structures. For mixed macromolecules, it may be essential to make critical comparisons of the same structural features imaged with AFM and other techniques such as light fluorescence and confocal microscopies, electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and biochemical, immunologic, and pharmacologic techniques and electrophysiologic recordings. Significantly, the simple design of AFM allows it to be integrated with other techniques for simultaneous multimodal imaging. Recent combined multimodal imaging include light fluorescence, confocal, and near-field optical imaging as well as electrophysiologic recordings. Preliminary studies from such multimodal imaging include 1) an independent identification of macromolecules in a complex specimen using appropriately labeled markers such as fluorescent-dye labeled antibodies or dark-field microscopy; 2) imaging real-time reorganization of surface features using laser confocal and AFM; 3) a direct correlation of structural features and ion transfer via pores in a membrane; and 4) macromolecular complexes such as receptor-ligand and antigen-antibody. These features of a multimodal imaging system will provide new and significant avenues for a direct real-time structure-function correlation studies of biological macromolecules. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 8, 293–300, 1997     

Theoretical design of vascular imaging based on hall effect

The conceptual technique of vascular imaging and blood flow functional imaging based on Hall Effect is presented in this article. With this non‐invasive approach, both 3D anatomical imaging of the vasculature and functional imaging of blood flow in the deep structure of the human body can be obtained without radiation risk. The technique is based on the fact that the induced charges can be generated when the blood flows through the magnetic field. The induced electric field strength is measured by two groups of detector arrays, which captures not only the position of vasculature in each section, but also the velocity of blood flow and vessel size. The captured images can also be used for 3D reconstruction of the anatomical models. The designed system architecture including both hardware and software is described. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 23, 85–96, 2013     

Pinhole-array x-ray spectrometer for laser-fusion experiments

A pinhole-array x-ray spectrometer for laser-fusion experiments is demonstrated. An array of approximately 300 pinholes is placed in front of a flat-crystal spectrometer, yielding target images at photon energies ~10 eV apart (for photon energies of ~4 to 5 keV). For wideband radiation the images are two dimensional, whereas when a single spectral line is used, the field of view in the direction of dispersion is limited. However, single spectral line images can have a field of view sufficient for imaging the compressed target core. We show the image at the Ti-Kalpha-line fluorescence from a Ti-doped shell, which we show to be excited by continuum radiation from the compressed core. The Kalpha image delineates the cold, compressed shell at peak compression, which can otherwise be obtained only through backlighting. In addition, the array provides spectra of high spectral resolution because of the reduction in the effective source size.     

Imaging in three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy

By and large, radiation therapy is a noninvasive method of the treatment of cancer requiring knowledge of the precise location and extent of the disease to be destroyed and the organs to be protected from radiation damage. Images have always played a central role in providing the requisite information for this mode of cancer treatment. Different types of images, such as computed tomography (CT); magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomographic (PET), simulator, etc., are used to varying degrees depending upon their relevance to radiation oncology as well as their accessibility. It is often necessary to merge data from various types of images. The availability of three-dimensional information from tomographic images has allowed the introduction of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) methods. Images are employed for diagnosing and establishing the extent of the disease, planning and delivery treatments, and evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment in controlling the disease and assessing the damage to normal tissues. Each image type has a unique informational content of importance to radiation oncology. To extract the maximum information from images, it is necessary to employ various image processing tools. These tools allow us to perform such functions as (1) image enhancement; (2) image correlation to register information from various images; (3) segmentation of images to extract the surface outlines of the tumor volume and normal anatomic structures; and (4) two- and three dimensional data visualization. One important aspect of planning radiation treatments is the computation of dose distribution in the patient for a proposed configuration of radiation beams. This step requires tracing rays in a three-dimensional CT image data set to compute radiologic path lengths through the patient's body. Although images are employed to a great advantage in radiation oncology, many problems still remain to be solved. Of the various 3DCRT tasks, the outlining of contours of the volume of intended treatment and normal anatomy on images is highly labor-intensive and fraught with uncertainty. In addition, the integration of data from various imaging modalities is difficult and error prone because of distortions inherent in imaging and also because of the motion, deformation, and displacement of patients and their internal anatomy. Investigations are in progress to find solutions to these problems.     

Infrared image registration and high-resolution reconstructionusing multiple translationally shifted aliased video frames

Forward looking infrared (FLIR) detector arrays generally produce spatially undersampled images because the FLIR arrays cannot be made dense enough to yield a sufficiently high spatial sampling frequency. Multi-frame techniques, such as microscanning, are an effective means of reducing aliasing and increasing resolution in images produced by staring imaging systems. These techniques involve interlacing a set of image frames that have been shifted with respect to each other during acquisition. The FLIR system is mounted on a moving platform, such as an aircraft, and the vibrations associated with the platform are used to generate the shifts. Since a fixed number of image frames is required, and the shifts are random, the acquired frames will not fall on a uniformly spaced grid. Furthermore, some of the acquired frames may have almost similar shifts thus making them unusable for high-resolution image reconstruction. In this paper, we utilize a gradient-based registration algorithm to estimate the shifts between the acquired frames and then use a weighted nearest-neighbor approach for placing the frames onto a uniform grid to form a final high-resolution image. Blurring by the detector and optics of the imaging system limits the increase in image resolution when microscanning is attempted at sub-pixel movements of less than half the detector width. We resolve this difficulty by the application of the Wiener filter, designed using the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the imaging system, to the high-resolution image. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique. The techniques proposed herein are significantly faster than alternate techniques, and are found to be especially suitable for real-time applications     

大型平行光管像质实时监测的可行性论证

针对目前大型平行光管成像质量监测的现状,本文提出了一种对平行光管进行实时监测的新方法,验证了这种监测方法的可行性.该方法根据光管自准检测原理,采用小平面镜对光管像质进行实时监测,计算了在一个焦深范围内小平面镜转角误差大小.实验结果证明在一个焦深范围内用精度0.02"的自准直仪,可将小平面镜转角误差控制在0.2"以内,对大型平行光管起到了进行实时监测的作用.大型平行光管在空间遥感设备中运用广泛,此检测光管像质的方法在工程上将起到积极的作用.     

An experimental method for ripple minimization in transmission data for industrial X-ray computed tomography imaging system

Industrial Computed Tomographic (ICT) imaging systems based on X-rays require a high stability source. This emanates from the fact that in a computed tomographic imaging system, statistical variation inherent in the penetrating radiation used to probe the specimen, electronic noise generated in the detection system and reconstruction errors play an important role in the overall quality of the image. A conventional industrial X-ray machine used for routine radiography work is not suitable for tomographic imaging applications because of its output dose variations. In this paper, an experiment is described to utilise a general-purpose 160 kV constant potential industrial X-ray machine with significant ripple in its output beam, in an experimental Computed Industrial Tomographic Imaging System (CITIS) developed at Isotope Applications Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Studies carried out include the analysis of temporal profile of X-ray beam intensity and online averaging of detected signals for the minimization of periodic ripple, which mainly showed up, at the power line frequency. A tomographic image of a typical specimen, reconstructed with the processed projection data is analysed. It was observed that the mean value of reconstructed linear absorption coefficients and standard deviation computed over a window within a constant density region of the object were stable     

Demodulation techniques for the amplitude modulated laser imager

A new technique has been found that uses in-phase and quadrature phase (I/Q) demodulation to optimize the images produced with an amplitude-modulated laser imaging system. An I/Q demodulator was used to collect the I/Q components of the received modulation envelope. It was discovered that by adjusting the local oscillator phase and the modulation frequency, the backscatter and target signals can be analyzed separately via the I/Q components. This new approach enhances image contrast beyond what was achieved with a previous design that processed only the composite magnitude information.     

高速窄带多光谱成像系统光谱重建技术研究

光谱成像技术可以同时从光谱维和空间维上获取被测目标的信息，即结合了空间成像系统和光谱检测系统的功能，因此近年在影像获取与处理领域中倍受重视。本论文基于窄带多光谱成像技术建立八通道CCD多光谱成像系统，它能够实时采集八个通道的图像，获得波长分布从可见到红外（420-940nm）八个波段的光谱响应值。在此基础上对图像进行位置配准、反射率定标、采用插值算法获得其它波段光谱响应值，最终能够获取图像中任意一点的光谱反射率及颜色参数。实验结果表明，本文使用的三次样条插值法对原始光谱图像进行平滑操作的方法是有效的，能够以一定精度模拟出目标物点的真实光谱特性。该系统在动态目标检测识别、艺术品评价复制等领域有着广阔的应用前景。     

医学数字摄影中，单纯追求影像质量不可取

在使用医用X-线胶片进行放射摄影时,胶片上的影像密度在冲洗后就不变了,X-线曝光量基本上是规范化的;但是,在数字摄影时,由于曝光产生的信息要经过后期处理,才能获得最终的影像,曝光和后期处理有很大的调整范围;影像的质量决定于信嘈比,而增加曝光量确实可以提高信嘈比,因此往往为了获得最佳的影像质量而追求最大的信嘈比,以便获得最佳影像质量,直接后果是病人得接受较高的射线剂量。但有时适当的影像质量就足可以满足诊断要求,就不应该让病人接受不必要的射线照射,因为过高的射线照射是极其有害的。     

Autonomous radiation monitoring of small vessels

Small private vessels are one avenue by which nuclear materials may be smuggled across international borders. While one can contemplate using the land-based approach of radiation portal monitors on the navigable waterways that lead to many ports, these systems are ill-suited to the problem. In contrast to roadways, where lanes segregate vehicles, and motion is well controlled by inspection booths; channels, inlets, and rivers present chaotic traffic patterns populated by vessels of all sizes. A unique solution to this problem is based on a portal-less portal monitor designed to handle free-flowing traffic on roadways with up to five-traffic lanes. The instrument uses a combination of visible-light and gamma-ray imaging to acquire and link radiation images to individual vehicles. This paper presents the results of a recent test of the system in a maritime setting.     

Real-time angular scatter imaging system for improved tissuecontrast in diagnostic ultrasound images

A new type of real-time ultrasound imaging system has been developed. In contrast to conventional systems, which process only echoes scattered directly back from tissue to form an image, this system images tissue by displaying energy scattered at other angles. In its present form, the system uses one 32 element, 2.4 MHz phased array transducer in transmit and a second, spatially separate 32 element, 2.4 MHz phased array transducer in receive, to detect sound which is scattered away from the transmit transducer. In order to form an image line, the transmit transducer sends into the body a steered pulse, which is tracked dynamically from the side by the receive transducer. The signal detected by the receive transducer is processed in the same manner as in a standard B-mode phased array system. The final display format is a gray scale sector originating from the transmit transducer. Real-time angular scatter images of phantom and in vivo targets have been formed and compared to standard backscatter B-mode images of the same targets