Evaluation of center-line extraction algorithms in quantitative coronary angiography

Objective testing of centerline extraction accuracy in quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) algorithms is a very difficult task. Standard tools for this task are not yet available. We present a simulation tool that generates synthetic angiographic images of a single coronary artery with predetermined centerline and diameter function. This simulation tool was used creating a library of images for the objective comparison and evaluation of QCA algorithms. This technique also provides the means for understanding the relationship between the algorithms' performance and limitations and the vessel's geometrical parameters. In this paper, two algorithms are evaluated and the results are presented.     

An efficient design of CORDIC in Quantum-dot cellular automata technology

Power dissipation of future-integrated systems, consisting of a numberless of devices, is a challenge that cannot be easily solved by classical technologies. Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) is a Field-Coupled Nanotechnology (FCN) and a potential alternative to traditional CMOS technologies. It offers various features like extremely low-power dissipation, very high operating frequency and nanoscale feature size. This study presents a novel design of CORDIC circuit based on QCA technology. The proposed circuit is based on several proposed QCA sub-modules as adder and Flip-Flop. To design and verify the proposed architecture, QCADesigner tool is employed and power consumption is estimated using QCAPro software. The proposed QCA CORDIC achieves about 69% reduction in power and area compared to previous existing designs. The outcome of this work can open up a new window of opportunity for the design of the CORDIC module and can be used in low-power signal and image processing systems.     

A FADE-COMPENSATION TECHNIQUE FOR DIGITAL LAND MOBILE SATELLITE SYSTEMS

This paper proposes a novel fade-compensation algorithm using a pilot symbol-aided technique for digital and mobile satellite systems. In a conventional pilot symbol-aided system, a pilot symbol from a known pseudorandom-symbol sequence is inserted periodically into the data-symbol sequence in the transmitter. At the receiver, these pilot symbols are extracted from the received signal and used to estimate the signal distortion introduced in the fading channel. The resultant estimate is then used to correct the fading effects in the received data symbols. In this paper, a novel fade-compensation technique that uses both the pilot symbols and the data symbols is proposed. A series of computer-simulation tests has been carried out to assess the effectiveness of the technique on the bit-error-rate (BER) performances of an uncoded 16-ary phase-shift keyed (16PSK) and an uncoded 16-ary quadrature-amplitude modulated (16QAM) signal over the land mobile satellite channels. The results have shown that substantial improvements in the BER performances of the systems can be obtained, compared to those using only the pilot symbols.     

Design of sequential circuits by quantum-dot cellular automata

This paper proposes a detailed design analysis of sequential circuits for quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA). This analysis encompasses flip-flop (FF) devices as well as circuits. Initially, a novel RS-type FF amenable to a QCA implementation is proposed. This FF extends a previous threshold-based configuration to QCA by taking into account the timing issues associated with the adiabatic switching of this technology. The characterization of a D-type FF as a device consisting of an embedded wire is also presented. Unique timing constraints in QCA sequential logic design are identified and investigated. An algorithm for assigning appropriate clocking zones to a QCA sequential circuit is proposed. A technique referred to as stretching is used in the algorithm to ensure timing and delay matching. This algorithm relies on a topological sorting and enumeration step to consistently traversing only once the edges of the graph representation of the QCA sequential circuit. Examples of QCA sequential circuits are provided.     

Scalability of Globally Asynchronous QCA (Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata) Adder Design

The concept of clocking for QCA, referred to as the four-phase clocking, is widely used. However, inherited characteristics of QCA, such as the way to hold state, the way to synchronize data flows, and the way to power QCA cells, make the design of QCA circuits quite different from VLSI and introduce a variety of new design challenges. The most severe challenges are due to the fact that the overall timing of a QCA circuit is mainly dependent upon its layout. This issue is commonly referred to as the “layout = timing” problem. To circumvent the problem, a novel self-timed circuit design technique referred to as the Locally Synchronous, globally asynchronous design for QCA has been recently proposed. The proposed technique can significantly reduce the layout–timing dependency from the global network of QCA devices in a circuit; therefore, considerably flexible QCA circuit design is be possible. Also, the proposed technique is more scalable in designing large-scale systems. Since a less number of cells is used, the overall area is smaller and the manufacturability is better. In this paper, numerous multi-bit adder designs are considered to demonstrate the layout efficiency and robustness of the proposed globally asynchronous QCA design technique.     

Design and evaluation of new majority gate-based RAM cell in quantum-dot cellular automata

Quantum-dot cellular automata is one of the candidate technologies used in Nano scale computer design and a promising replacement for conventional CMOS circuits in the near future. Since memory is one of the significant components of any digital system, designing a high speed and well-optimized QCA random access memory (RAM) is a remarkable subject. In this paper, a new robust five-input majority gate is first presented, which is appropriate for implementation of simple and efficient QCA circuits in single layer. By employing this structure, a novel RAM cell architecture with set and reset ability is proposed. This architecture has a simple and robust structure that helps achieving minimal area, as well as reduction in hardware requirements and clocking zone numbers. Functional correctness of the presented structures is proved by using QCADesigner tool. Simulation results confirm efficiency and usefulness of the proposed architectures vis-à-vis state-of-the-art.     

System for quantitative three-dimensional echocardiography of theleft ventricle based on a magnetic-field position and orientationsensing system

Accurate measurement of left-ventricular (LV) volume and function are important to monitor disease progression and assess prognosis in patients with heart disease. Existing methods of three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of the heart using ultrasound have shown the potential of this modality, but each suffers from inherent restrictions which limit its applicability to the full range of clinical situations. The authors have developed a technique for image acquisition using a magnetic-field system to track the 3-D echocardiographic imaging planes and 3-D image analysis software including the piecewise smooth subdivision method for surface reconstruction. The technique offers several advantages over existing methods of 3-D echocardiography. The results of validation using in vitro LV's show that the technique allows accurate measurement of LV volume and anatomically accurate 3-D reconstruction of LV shape and is, therefore, suitable for analysis of regional as well as global function     

基于广义交叉验证和Cycle Spinning的SAR图像相干斑抑制

该文基于SAR图像的统计特性,提出了一种相干斑抑制算法。该算法在不需要估计噪声能量的情况下,采用广义交叉验证准则构造目标函数,自适应获取近似最优阈值;然后基于小波阈值收缩完成SAR图像滤波;并引入Cycle Spinning策略有效去除边缘存在的振铃效应。实验结果表明:基于该文算法的相干斑抑制在视觉效果和客观衡量指标上都取得了较好的、鲁棒的效果,有效地抑制了相干斑噪声,均匀区域平滑,且能同时保持边缘和细节清晰。     

Single-Bit Comparator in Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata (QCA) Technology Using Novel QCA-XNOR Gates

To fill the continuous needs for faster processing elements with less power consumption causes large pressure on the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology developers. The scaling scenario is not an option nowadays and other technologies need to be investigated. The quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) technology is one of the important emerging nanotechnologies that have attracted much researchers’ attention in recent years. This technology has many interesting features, such as high speed, low power consumption, and small size. These features make it an appropriate alternative to the CMOS technique. This paper suggests three novel structures of XNOR gates in the QCA technology. The presented structures do not follow the conventional approaches to the logic gates design but depend on the inherent capabilities of the new technology. The proposed structures are used as the main building blocks for a single-bit comparator. The resulted circuits are simulated for the verification purpose and then compared with existing counterparts in the literature. The comparison results are encouraging to append the proposed structures to the library of QCA gates.     

A novel FPGA-programmable switch matrix interconnection element in quantum-dot cellular automata

The Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) is a novel nanotechnology, promising extra low-power, extremely dense and very high-speed structure for the construction of logical circuits at a nanoscale. In this paper, initially previous works on QCA-based FPGA’s routing elements are investigated, and then an efficient, symmetric and reliable QCA programmable switch matrix (PSM) interconnection element is introduced. This element has a simple structure and offers a complete routing capability. It is implemented using a bottom-up design approach that starts from a dense and high-speed 2:1 multiplexer and utilise it to build the target PSM interconnection element. In this study, simulations of the proposed circuits are carried out using QCAdesigner, a layout and simulation tool for QCA circuits. The results demonstrate high efficiency of the proposed designs in QCA-based FPGA routing.     

A new quantum-dot cellular automata full-adder

A novel expandable five-input majority gate for quantum-dot cellular automata and a new full-adder cell are presented. Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) is an emerging technology and a possible alternative for semiconductor transistor based technologies. A novel QCA majority-logic gate is proposed. This component is suitable for designing QCA circuits. The gate is simple in structure and powerful in terms of implementing digital functions. By applying these kinds of gates, the hardware requirement for a QCA design can be reduced and circuits can be simpler in level, gate counts and clock phases. In order to verify the functionality of the proposed device, some physical proofs are provided. The proper functionality of the FA is checked by means of computer simulations using QCADesigner tool. Both simulation results and physical relations confirm our claims and its usefulness in designing every digital circuit.     

基于MATLAB的立体声与环绕声声像分析软件

利用MATLAB程序设计语言，编写了立体声和环绕声声像分析软件。该软件以理论计算和实验测量得到的头相关传输函数（HRTF）为基础，运用立体声声像的相关分析方法，可对立全体声和环绕声的声像位置，声像的明晰度和自然度进行分析，为设计新的系统提供了工具。文中最后指出软件应用还存在的局限性。     

信息技术服务标准验证与应用试点工作综述

详细介绍了对已研制的五项信息技术服务标准(ITSS)开展的验证与应用试点工作的背景、工作内容与方法、工作情况,并重点介绍了在试点过程中取得的支持标准实施的工具系统和平台、标准应用典型案例,以及依据标准规范市场的模式和机制等几方面的工作成果。     

Pilot-Symbol-Aided 16PSK and 16QAM for Digital Land Mobile Radio Systems

The paper proposes a novel pilot-symbol-aided (PSA) technique for fading compensation of digital signals in the mobile environments. In a PSA system, the data sequence at the transmitter is divided into frames of data. A pilot symbol from a known pseudoradom-symbol sequence is inserted periodically into a frame of data symbol for transmission. In a conventional PSA-receiver, these pilot symbols are extracted from the received signal and used to estimate the effects of signal distortion introduced in the fading channel. The resultant estimates are then used to correct the distortion effects in the received data frames. In the paper, a novel estimation technique that uses the data symbols as well as the pilot symbols is proposed. The technique has the major advantages of simple implementation and short storage-delay time. Results are presented in a series of computer-simulation tests. These assess the effectiveness of the estimation technique on the BER performances of a 16-ary phase-shift keyed (16PSK) and a 16-ary quadrature-amplitude modulated (16QAM) signals in the frequency-selective and frequency-nonselective Rayleigh fading channels. The channels are corrupted by co-channel interference or additive white Gaussian noise. Results of differential-detected 16PSK and star-16QAM signals are also presented for comparison. It has been shown that, the use of PSA technique can significantly improve the bit-error-rate performances of the systems, relative to those using differential detection.     

Analysis of 3-D myocardial motion in tagged MR images using nonrigid image registration

Tagged magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is unique in its ability to noninvasively image the motion and deformation of the heart in vivo, but one of the fundamental reasons limiting its use in the clinical environment is the absence of automated tools to derive clinically useful information from tagged MR images. In this paper, we present a novel and fully automated technique based on nonrigid image registration using multilevel free-form deformations (MFFDs) for the analysis of myocardial motion using tagged MRI. The novel aspect of our technique is its integrated nature for tag localization and deformation field reconstruction using image registration and voxel based similarity measures. To extract the motion field within the myocardium during systole we register a sequence of images taken during systole to a set of reference images taken at end-diastole, maximizing the normalized mutual information between the images. We use both short-axis and long-axis images of the heart to estimate the full four-dimensional motion field within the myocardium. We also present validation results from data acquired from twelve volunteers.     

自然场景下标志牌文本的提取

图像中的文本提取在现代科技中有重要的地拉,而自然场景下标志牌文本的提取更占据了其中的主要部分。在对已有的文本提取方法进行深入研究和分析的基础之上,提出了一种新颖、有效的标志文字提取的方法,该方法在彩色图像滤波的基础上,通过对图像进行边缘检测,根据文字的固有特征和关系特征进行文本区域的确认。该文本提取软件可以对自然场景下标记牌文本进行较为有效的提取。     

基于造影图像的冠状动脉三维定量分析的研究

由于X射线造影成像把血管三维空间结构投影到二维图像上,基于二维造影图像的传统诊治方法存在很大局限性.本文在冠状动脉树三维重建的基础上,研究了冠状动脉的三维定量分析方法,提出血管直径、分支夹角和血管段长度的三维测量方法.并利用冠状动脉树实物模型进行实验,对二维和三维定量分析结果进行了比较.实验结果表明,三维定量分析能够有效地提高临床医学参数的测量精度.因此,在冠心病的临床诊断和介入治疗中,该方法能够可靠地诊断血管狭窄及选择和放置支架.     

CT-based software for 3-D localization and reconstruction instepping source brachytherapy

Describes innovative software for catheter localization and 3D reconstruction in stepping-source brachytherapy applications. The patient information is a set of computed tomography (CT) slices, scanned during the implantation of brachytherapy catheters. Catheter geometry and patient anatomy are exported for use with dose calculation software modules. The errors produced by the system are also encouragingly low. Time savings were achieved compared with other traditional reconstruction techniques. Various automated procedures, 3D graphics and a user-friendly GUI have contributed to providing a powerful, comprehensive software tool that is directly useable in clinical practice     

A new design of QCA‐based nanoscale multiplexer and its usage in communications

Quantum‐dot cellular automata (QCA) is one of the proposed nanotechnologies in the electronics industry, which offers a new construction for scheming digital circuits with less energy consumption on the nanoscale and possibly can be an appropriate replacement of complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Nanocommunication in QCA has attracted a wide range of researcher's attention. However, there is still a broad scope to design QCA‐based architecture for nanocommunication. The multiplexer is hugely used in the telecommunication system and transmits multiple data at the same time. Therefore, in this paper, a useful structure to implement a 2 to 1 multiplexer based on the novel XOR gate is presented and is used as a module to implement the 4 to 1 and 8 to 1 multiplexers. Simulations using QCADesigner tool are done to check the performance of the suggested designs. The 2 to 1, 4 to 1, and 8 to 1 QCA multiplexer structures utilize 22, 92, and 260 cells and consume 0.03, 0.12, and 0.40 μm² of area, respectively. They have shown that the suggested designs have stable and applicable structures regarding area, cost, and complexity.     

Single-bit digital comparator circuit design using quantum-dot cellular automata nanotechnology

The large amount of secondary effects in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor technology limits its application in the ultra-nanoscale region. Circuit designers explore a new technology for the ultra-nanoscale region, which is the quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA). Low-energy dissipation, high speed, and area efficiency are the key features of the QCA technology. This research proposes a novel, low-complexity, QCA-based one-bit digital comparator circuit for the ultra-nanoscale region. The performance of the proposed comparator circuit is presented in detail in this paper and compared with that of existing designs. The proposed QCA structure for the comparator circuit only consists of 19 QCA cells with two clock phases. QCA Designer-E and QCA Pro tools are applied to estimate the total energy dissipation. The proposed comparator saves 24.00% QCA cells, 25.00% cell area, 37.50% layout cost, and 78.11% energy dissipation compared with the best reported similar design.