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Imaging Applications (imaging + application)
Selected AbstractsNanostructures, Optical Properties, and Imaging Application of Lead-Sulfide Nanocomposite CoatingsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2004Song Wei Lu Lead-sulfide (PbS) nanocrystals were precipitated in nanocomposite coatings after a pre-photo-polymerization followed by a reaction with H2S gas at 25°C for 1 hr. PbS nanocrystalline size and optical absorption increased with decreasing UV energy for pre-photo-polymerization and increasing concentration. The absorption onset has a large blue shift from 0.41 eV of the corresponding bulk crystal, resulting from the quantum confinement effect. As a result, coating color changes significantly from deep brown to light yellow depending on coating processing conditions. Partially masking the coatings during pre-photo-polymerization gives rise to different colors, leading to imaging applications of PbS nanocomposite coatings. [source] Cover Picture: Synthesis of Gadolinium-Labeled Shell-Crosslinked Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Applications (Adv. Funct.ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 8 2005Mater. Abstract Robust, amphiphilic core,shell nanoparticles that are selectively labeled with gadolinium in the hydrophilic and water-swollen shell layer are depicted in the cover picture. These well-defined nanostructured materials exhibit high relaxivity, a large loading capacity, and are based upon a biocompatible platform for ultimate function in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications, as reported by Wooley and co-workers on p.,1248. Shell-crosslinked knedel-like nanoparticles (SCKs; "knedel" is a Polish term for dumplings) were derivatized with gadolinium chelates and studied as robust magnetic-resonance-imaging-active structures with hydrodynamic diameters of 40,±,3,nm. SCKs possessing an amphiphilic core,shell morphology were produced from the aqueous assembly of diblock copolymers of poly-(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA), PAA52,b,PMA128, and subsequent covalent crosslinking by amidation upon reaction with 2,2,-(ethylenedioxy)bis(ethylamine) throughout the shell layer. The properties of these materials, including non-toxicity towards mammalian cells, non-immunogenicity within mice, and capability for polyvalent targeting, make them ideal candidates for utilization within biological systems. The synthesis of SCKs derivatized with GdIII and designed for potential use as a unique nanometer-scale contrast agent for MRI applications is described herein. Utilization of an amino-functionalized diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid,Gd analogue allowed for direct covalent conjugation throughout the hydrophilic shell layer of the SCKs and served to increase the rotational correlation lifetime of the Gd. In addition, the highly hydrated nature of the shell layer in which the Gd was located allowed for rapid water exchange; thus, the resulting material demonstrated large ionic relaxivities (39,s,1,mM,1) in an applied magnetic field of 0.47,T at 40,°C and, as a result of the large loading capacity of the material, also demonstrated high molecular relaxivities (20,000,s,1,mM,1). [source] Paramagnetic Liposomes as Innovative Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance (MR) Molecular Imaging ApplicationsCHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY, Issue 10 2008Enzo Terreno Abstract This article illustrates some innovative applications of liposomes loaded with paramagnetic lanthanide-based complexes in MR molecular imaging field. When a relatively high amount of a GdIII chelate is encapsulated in the vesicle, the nanosystem can simultaneously affect both the longitudinal (R1) and the transverse (R2) relaxation rate of the bulk H2O H-atoms, and this finding can be exploited to design improved thermosensitive liposomes whose MRI response is not longer dependent on the concentration of the probe. The observation that the liposome compartmentalization of a paramagnetic LnIII complex induce a significant R2 enhancement, primarily caused by magnetic susceptibility effects, prompted us to test the potential of such agents in cell-targeting MR experiments. The results obtained indicated that these nanoprobes may have a great potential for the MR visualization of cellular targets (like the glutamine membrane transporters) overexpressing in tumor cells. Liposomes loaded with paramagnetic complexes acting as NMR shift reagents have been recently proposed as highly sensitive CEST MRI agents. The main peculiarity of CEST probes is to allow the MR visualization of different agents present in the same region of interest, and this article provides an illustrative example of the in vivo potential of liposome-based CEST agents. [source] Performance prediction for a code with data-dependent runtimesCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 3 2008S. A. Jarvis Abstract In this paper we present a predictive performance model for a key biomedical imaging application found as part of the U.K. e-Science Information eXtraction from Images (IXI) project. This code represents a significant challenge for our existing performance prediction tools as it has internal structures that exhibit highly variable runtimes depending on qualities in the input data provided. Since the runtime can vary by more than an order of magnitude, it has been difficult to apply meaningful quality of service criteria to workflows that use this code. The model developed here is used in the context of an interactive scheduling system which provides rapid feedback to the users, allowing them to tailor their workloads to available resources or to allocate extra resources to scheduled workloads. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An autonomous phase-boundary detection technique for colloidal hard sphere suspension experiments,MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 4 2006Mark McDowell Abstract Colloidal suspensions of monodisperse spheres are used as physical models of thermodynamic phase transitions and as precursors to photonic band gap materials. Current techniques for identifying the phase boundaries involve manually identifying the phase transitions, which is very tedious and time-consuming. In addition, current image analysis techniques are not able to distinguish between densely packed phases within conventional microscope images, which are mainly characterized by degrees of randomness or order with similar grayscale value properties. We have developed an intelligent machine vision technique that automatically identifies colloidal phase boundaries. The technique utilizes intelligent image processing algorithms that accurately identify and track phase changes vertically or horizontally for a sequence of colloidal hard sphere suspension images. This technique is readily adaptable to any imaging application wherein regions of interest are distinguished from the background by differing patterns of motion over time. Microsc. Res. Tech. 69:236,245, 2006. Published 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Live-Cell Imaging with Water-Soluble Aminophenoxazinone Dyes Synthesised through Laccase BiocatalysisCHEMBIOCHEM, Issue 10 2010Frédéric Bruyneel Dr. Abstract Aminophenoxazinone dyes with variable water solubilities were assayed for the first time in a live-cell imaging application. Among a library of ten sulfonylated chromophores, one compound gave excellent results as an endocytic marker, showing a precise subcellular distribution. The compound was compared to four commercial vital tracers, including Lucifer Yellow. The first laccase-mediated regioselective synthesis of a diphosphorylated 2-aminophenoxazinone dye was also described. This compound, water-soluble at 10,2,M, displayed modest fluorescence properties and the ability to complex Mg2+ and Ca2+ cations, therefore giving fluorescence quenching. [source] Exposure of extremely low birth weight infants to diagnostic X-Rays: a longitudinal studyACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2 2009Ilan Arad Abstract Aim: To quantify the number of chest and abdominal radiograms performed in surviving singleton extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants in order to examine whether changes in imaging application occurred during the last 21 years (1987,2007). Methods: Clinical and radiological data of 225 out of 229 surviving infants were obtained and associations with time and clinical variables were evaluated. Results: The number of chest X-Rays performed per infant was 10.3 ± 11.1 (mean ± SD), median = 7; range = 0,77 and the number of abdominal radiograms was 5.6 ± 7.1, median = 3; range = 0,61. The number of chest and abdominal X-Rays performed per patient during 1987,1996 was very similar to that of 1997,2007, and no appreciable change of trend was observed along the years. There were negative and statistically significant correlations between the gestational age and the number of radiograms performed per patient (chest X-Rays: r =,0.402; p < 0.001, abdominal X-Rays: r =,0.182; p = 0.006). Controlling for gestational age, reduced numbers of radiograms per patient (abdominal: b =,1.20, p = 0.235; chest: b =,3.08, p = 0.035) were demonstrated in the second period. Patients with complicated clinical course were exposed to significantly more radiograms. Conclusion: Controlling for gestational age, a reduced number of exposures to chest radiograms was demonstrated during 1997,2007 compared with 1987,1996. Measures to reduce radiation, especially in complicated cases, are advocated. [source] NRC 3D imaging technology for museum and heritage applicationsCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3 2003J. Taylor Abstract The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has developed and patented three high-resolution 3D imaging systems and processing algorithms which have been applied to a wide range of museum and heritage recording applications. The systems have been designed for different imaging applications and, in collaboration with a number of national and international museums and cultural agencies, have been used to scan a wide variety of objects and sites. The objective of this paper is to present a summary of the 3D technology and examples of its heritage applications. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] User transparency: a fully sequential programming model for efficient data parallel image processingCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 6 2004F. J. Seinstra Abstract Although many image processing applications are ideally suited for parallel implementation, most researchers in imaging do not benefit from high-performance computing on a daily basis. Essentially, this is due to the fact that no parallelization tools exist that truly match the image processing researcher's frame of reference. As it is unrealistic to expect imaging researchers to become experts in parallel computing, tools must be provided to allow them to develop high-performance applications in a highly familiar manner. In an attempt to provide such a tool, we have designed a software architecture that allows transparent (i.e. sequential) implementation of data parallel imaging applications for execution on homogeneous distributed memory MIMD-style multicomputers. This paper presents an extensive overview of the design rationale behind the software architecture, and gives an assessment of the architecture's effectiveness in providing significant performance gains. In particular, we describe the implementation and automatic parallelization of three well-known example applications that contain many fundamental imaging operations: (1) template matching; (2) multi-baseline stereo vision; and (3) line detection. Based on experimental results we conclude that our software architecture constitutes a powerful and user-friendly tool for obtaining high performance in many important image processing research areas. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] How to determine free Gd and free ligand in solution of Gd chelates.CONTRAST MEDIA & MOLECULAR IMAGING, Issue 5 2006A technical note Abstract Gd(III) chelates are often used as reporting probes in magnetic resonance imaging applications. Their use relies on the assumption that their high stability ensures against the release of free ligand and free Gd3+ ions, which are both highly toxic to living systems. The presence of free Gd3+ ions may have a profound effect on the contrast in the MR image as they may form highly hydrated, macromolecular complexes endowed with very high relaxivity thus providing erroneous information on the extent of the contrast effect induced by the given reporting probe. Although the stability of a given complex may be high enough, the complexation step could not have been completed. Therefore any Gd complex preparation has to be carefully checked for the content of free ligand and free metal ions. Herein the currently used procedures that allow an assessment of the amounts of free metal ions and free ligand in a solution of a given Gd complex are described in detail. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [source] Traveltime computation with the linearized eikonal equation for anisotropic mediaGEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 4 2002Tariq Alkhalifah A linearized eikonal equation is developed for transversely isotropic (TI) media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI). It is linear with respect to perturbations in the horizontal velocity or the anisotropy parameter ,. An iterative linearization of the eikonal equation is used as the basis for an algorithm of finite-difference traveltime computations. A practical implementation of this iterative technique is to start with a background model that consists of an elliptically anisotropic, inhomogeneous medium, since traveltimes for this type of medium can be calculated efficiently using eikonal solvers, such as the fast marching method. This constrains the perturbation to changes in the anisotropy parameter , (the parameter most responsible for imaging improvements in anisotropic media). The iterative implementation includes repetitive calculation of , from traveltimes, which is then used to evaluate the perturbation needed for the next round of traveltime calculations using the linearized eikonal equation. Unlike isotropic media, interpolation is needed to estimate , in areas where the traveltime field is independent of ,, such as areas where the wave propagates vertically. Typically, two to three iterations can give sufficient accuracy in traveltimes for imaging applications. The cost of each iteration is slightly less than the cost of a typical eikonal solver. However, this method will ultimately provide traveltime solutions for VTI media. The main limitation of the method is that some smoothness of the medium is required for the iterative implementation to work, especially since we evaluate derivatives of the traveltime field as part of the iterative approach. If a single perturbation is sufficient for the traveltime calculation, which may be the case for weak anisotropy, no smoothness of the medium is necessary. Numerical tests demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of this approach. [source] Identification of a Highly Specific Hydroxyapatite-binding Peptide using Phage Display,ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 10 2008Marc D. Roy A peptide sequence SVSVGMKPSPRP that selectively recognizes hydroxyapatite (HA) is identified by using a phage display approach. The engineered sequence exhibits chemical and structural specificity for HA over calcium carbonate and HA's amorphous calcium phosphate precursor. In situ binding to HA in a tooth cross section further demonstrates the sequence specificity and utility in nondestructive imaging applications. [source] Nanostructures, Optical Properties, and Imaging Application of Lead-Sulfide Nanocomposite CoatingsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2004Song Wei Lu Lead-sulfide (PbS) nanocrystals were precipitated in nanocomposite coatings after a pre-photo-polymerization followed by a reaction with H2S gas at 25°C for 1 hr. PbS nanocrystalline size and optical absorption increased with decreasing UV energy for pre-photo-polymerization and increasing concentration. The absorption onset has a large blue shift from 0.41 eV of the corresponding bulk crystal, resulting from the quantum confinement effect. As a result, coating color changes significantly from deep brown to light yellow depending on coating processing conditions. Partially masking the coatings during pre-photo-polymerization gives rise to different colors, leading to imaging applications of PbS nanocomposite coatings. [source] Generalization of multivariate optical computations as a method for improving the speed and precision of spectroscopic analysesJOURNAL OF CHEMOMETRICS, Issue 6 2008Marc K. Boysworth Abstract Multivariate optical computations (MOCs) offer improved analytical precision and increased speed of analysis via synchronous data collection and numerical computation with scanning spectroscopic systems. The improved precision originates in the redistribution of integration time from spurious channels to informative channels in an optimal manner for increasing the signal-to-noise ratio with multivariate analysis under the constraint of constant total analysis time. In this work, MOCs perform the multiplication and addition steps of spectral processing by adjusting the integration parameters of the optical detector or adjusting the scanning profile of the tunable optical filter. Improvement in the precision of analysis is achieved via the implicit optimization of the analytically useful signal-to-noise ratio. The speed improvements are realized through simpler data post-processing, which reduces the computation time required after data collection. Alternatively, the analysis time may be significantly truncated while still seeing an improvement in the precision of analysis, relative to competing methods. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopic sensors and visible reflectance spectroscopic imaging were used as test beds for assessing the performance of MOCs. MOCs were shown to reduce the standard deviation of prediction by 15% compared to digital data collection and analysis with the SPR and up to 45% for the imaging applications. Similarly, a 30% decrease in the total analysis time was realized while still seeing precision improvements. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A sagittally focusing double-multilayer monochromator for ultrafast X-ray imaging applicationsJOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION, Issue 1 2007Jinyuan Liu The development of a sagittally focusing double-multilayer monochromator is reported, which produces a spatially extended wide-bandpass X-ray beam from an intense synchrotron bending-magnet source at the Advanced Photon Source, for ultrafast X-ray radiography and tomography applications. This monochromator consists of two W/B4C multilayers with a 25,Ĺ period coated on Si single-crystal substrates. The second multilayer is mounted on a sagittally focusing bender, which can dynamically change the bending radius of the multilayer in order to condense and focus the beam to various points along the beamline. With this new apparatus, it becomes possible to adjust the X-ray beam size to best match the area detector size and the object size to facilitate more efficient data collection using ultrafast X-ray radiography and tomography. [source] Characterizations of a Hot-Pressed Polycrystalline Spinel:Ce ScintillatorJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 8 2010Ching-Fong Chen Here, we report a new polycrystalline ceramic scintillator for possible use in ,-ray detection and medical imaging applications. The goal was to develop a cerium-doped spinel (MgAl2O4:Ce), which can be processed utilizing ceramic forming techniques. High-purity MgAl2O4 powders were used as the starting materials. Lithium fluoride (LiF) was used as a sintering aid and CeO2 powder was used as the dopant. The mixed and dried powders were hot pressed in a vacuum environment to achieve high-density MgAl2O4:Ce. The hot-pressed sample shows a transparent polycrystalline appearance. In-line transmission was measured to determine the transparency of the structure. Microstructures were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Fluorescence absorption and emission peaks were also measured in addition to the decay time measurement. [source] In vivo MRI using real-time production of hyperpolarized 129XeMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 1 2008Bastiaan Driehuys Abstract MR imaging of hyperpolarized (HP) nuclei is challenging because they are typically delivered in a single dose of nonrenewable magnetization, from which the entire image must be derived. This problem can be overcome with HP 129Xe, which can be produced sufficiently rapidly to deliver in dilute form (1%) continuously and on-demand. We demonstrate a real-time in vivo delivery of HP 129Xe mixture to rats, a capability we now routinely use for setting frequency, transmitter gain, shimming, testing pulse sequences, scout imaging, and spectroscopy. Compared to images acquired using conventional fully concentrated 129Xe, real-time 129Xe images have 26-fold less signal, but clearly depict ventilation abnormalities. Real-time 129Xe MRI could be useful for time-course studies involving acute injury or response to treatment. Ultimately, real-time 129Xe MRI could be done with more highly concentrated 129Xe, which could increase the signal-to-noise ratio by 100 relative to these results to enable a new class of gas imaging applications. Magn Reson Med 60:14,20, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Improving k - t SENSE by adaptive regularizationMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 5 2007Dan Xu Abstract The recently proposed method known as k - t sensitivity encoding (SENSE) has emerged as an effective means of improving imaging speed for several dynamic imaging applications. However, k - t SENSE uses temporally averaged data as a regularization term for image reconstruction. This may not only compromise temporal resolution, it may also make some of the temporal frequency components irrecoverable. To address that issue, we present a new method called spatiotemporal domain-based unaliasing employing sensitivity encoding and adaptive regularization (SPEAR). Specifically, SPEAR provides an improvement over k - t SENSE by generating adaptive regularization images. It also uses a variable-density (VD), sequentially interleaved k - t space sampling pattern with reference frames for data acquisition. Simulations based on experimental data were performed to compare SPEAR, k - t SENSE, and several other related methods, and the results showed that SPEAR can provide higher temporal resolution with significantly reduced image artifacts. Ungated 3D cardiac imaging experiments were also carried out to test the effectiveness of SPEAR, and real-time 3D short-axis images of the human heart were produced at 5.5 frames/s temporal resolution and 2.4 × 1.2 × 8 mm3 spatial resolution with eight slices. Magn Reson Med 57:918,930, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] 32-channel 3 Tesla receive-only phased-array head coil with soccer-ball element geometryMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 1 2006G.C. Wiggins Abstract A 32-channel 3T receive-only phased-array head coil was developed for human brain imaging. The helmet-shaped array was designed to closely fit the head with individual overlapping circular elements arranged in patterns of hexagonal and pentagonal symmetry similar to that of a soccer ball. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and noise amplification (g -factor) in accelerated imaging applications were quantitatively evaluated in phantom and human images and compared with commercially available head coils. The 32-channel coil showed SNR gains of up to 3.5-fold in the cortex and 1.4-fold in the corpus callosum compared to a (larger) commercial eight-channel head coil. The experimentally measured g -factor performance of the helmet array showed significant improvement compared to the eight-channel array (peak g -factor 59% and 26% of the eight-channel values for four- and fivefold acceleration). The performance of the arrays is demonstrated in high-resolution and highly accelerated brain images. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Dynamic imaging with multiple resolutions along phase-encode and slice-select dimensionsMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 6 2001Lawrence P. Panych Abstract An implementation is reported of an imaging method to obtain MUltiple Resolutions along Phase-encode and Slice-select dimensions (MURPS), which enables dynamic imaging of focal changes using a graded, multiresolution approach. MURPS allows one to trade spatial resolution in part of the volume for improved temporal resolution in dynamic imaging applications. A unique method of Hadamard slice encoding is used, enabling the varying of the phase encode and slice resolution while maintaining a constant effective TR throughout the entire 3-D volume. MURPS was implemented using a gradient-recalled echo sequence, and its utility was demonstrated for MR temperature monitoring. In this preliminary work, it has been shown that changes throughout a large volume can be effectively monitored in times that would normally only permit dynamic imaging in one or a very few slices. Magn Reson Med 45:940,947, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Broadband coplanar waveguide-fed slot antenna for wireless local area networks and microwave imaging applicationsMICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 4 2007Mohammod Ali Abstract A broadband CPW-fed semicircular slot antenna is proposed for 2,6 GHz WLAN (wireless local area networks) and microwave imaging applications. The total dimension of the bidirectional slot antenna is 80 mm by 50 mm and is designed on a 0.5-mm-thick Duroid 5880 substrate (dielectric constant = 2.2). The antenna operates from 2 to 6 GHz within VSWR of 2.5:1. The same antenna on a combination rectangular cylindrical cavity with cavity depth of 10 mm provides a directional beam, 11 dB front-to-back (F/B) ratio and a bandwidth of 63% (2.8,5.4 GHz). © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 846,852, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22276 [source] QD technology and market prospects in the sectors of space exploration, biomedicine, defense, and securityPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 12 2008C. A. Charitidis Abstract Quantum dots (QD) are a unique subset of nanomaterials characterized by their extraordinary quantum confinement behaviour. Even though the quantum dot industry is still in its infancy with revenues now reaching $10 million, it is expected to surpass $500 million in 2009. However, in order to leverage the full potential of the QD technology, new fabrication processes must be developed to attain high detectivity and high operating temperature (HOT) photodetector devices. The Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetectors (QDIPs) possess an immense potential for civilian and military applications due to the distinct characteristics stemming from their dimensionality , which provides 3D carrier confinement and the capacity for normal-incidence detection , and their amenability to bandgap engineering , which allows tailoring the peak and cutoff wavelengths according to custom needs. The QDIPs, especially when optimized to operate at higher temperatures, can become critical components in space exploration, defence and security, optical communication, quantum computing and cryptography, and medical imaging applications. Robust and reliable solutions for these fields will command a premium position in the marketplace as by responding to the societal need for secure electronic transactions, exponentially faster data processing, and higher quality diagnostic tools. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] | |||||||||||||||||||