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[Trans-thoracic 3D echocardiography reconstruction for left ventricular volume determination].

2D-echocardiography is a safe and inexpensive method for accurate left ventricular volume quantification. However, accuracy of measurements is limited by the requirement of geometric assumptions and volume computation algorithms. Reproducibility is diminished by erroneous image plane positioning, which is due to the necessity of standardized reference images. The degree of variation can influence clinical decision making. 3D-echocardiography has overcome those problems. Volume quantitation is performed without the need of geometric assumptions, computation algorithms or reference images. The shape of a ventricle is defined by acquired data, not by calculated data. Since the recent development of sophisticated hardware- and software techniques the method can be utilized under clinical circumstances. For data acquisition tomographic planes are acquired either in a random or in a sequential order. For random acquisition the transducer is positioned at various acoustic windows at the thoracic wall and spatial orientation of the corresponding plane is localized by a spark gap device. By this way various, non-parallel cross-sectional images of the left ventricle are acquired. The spatial position of the planes is displayed by lines in a parasternal longitudinal view, each representing a "line of intersection". When tomographic planes are acquired in a sequential manner, mostly rotational scanning is utilized. Here, multiple apical views of the left ventricle are acquired during ECG- and respiration gated rotation of the transducer over a span of 180 degrees.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Algorithms↗

An automated multi well cell track system to study leukocyte migration.

Design of automated image processing systems to determine migration characteristics of individual cells is not trivial. Every test sample requires separate recording and the analysis of individual cell tracks in two- or three-dimensional migration systems by time-lapse microscopy is extremely laborious. Here, we describe a new Automated Cell Track System (ACTS). In addition to contrast differences, which are used by existing analysis systems, the ACTS algorithms recognize cells on the basis of morphological similarities in successive images and adapt to the continuous shape changes of individual cells during migration. The system facilitates simultaneous analysis of multiple cells and the measurement of multiple wells in one single experiment. We validated the system studying HSB-2 T cell migration in standard 96-well microtiter plates coated with ICAM-1-Fc protein or control CD14-Fc protein. Migration of HSB-2 T cells on ICAM-1-Fc is Leukocyte Function-associated Antigen-1 (LFA-1)-mediated and both the number and the speed of migrating cells depend on the ICAM-1-Fc concentration. We show that automated analysis of the migration data yields similar results as manual analysis, but in a fraction of the time. We conclude that this system is extremely well suited to precisely monitor the migratory behavior of individual cells. The analysis of multiple wells in parallel makes this set-up appropriate in high throughput screening in which multiple components are simultaneously tested for their effect on cell migration.

Algorithms↗

Improvement of parallelization performance of GAMESS: global sum and (semi-)direct integral calculation in multireference perturbation calculation.

Performance benchmark tests of the multireference perturbation theory (MRPT2) calculation in the GAMESS suite of programs have been performed on a 128-node PC cluster system. The benchmark results point to two kinds of problems with GAMESS: network delay and slow access to disk files. To overcome these bottlenecks, we employ (semi-)direct atomic orbital integral calculations and a new algorithm for the "global sum" operation. These modifications produce remarkable performance improvements, especially in the 128-node PC cluster system, which was almost twice as fast in our version as in the original version. The modification of "global sum" also improved the performance of other types of molecular orbital calculations in GAMESS, such as density functional theory.

Journal Article↗

Fast oxygen-enhanced multislice imaging of the lung using parallel acquisition techniques.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an optimized multislice acquisition technique for oxygen-enhanced MRI of the lung using slice-selective inversion and refocusing pulses in combination with parallel imaging. An inversion recovery HASTE sequence was implemented with respiratory triggering to perform imaging in end-expiration and with ECG triggering to avoid image acquisition during the systolic phase. Inversion pulses and the readout of echo trains could be interleaved to decrease acquisition time. The sequence was evaluated in 15 healthy volunteers, comparing three acquisition schemes: (1) acquisition of four slices without parallel imaging; (2) acquisition of four slices with parallel imaging; (3) acquisition of six slices with parallel imaging. These multislice acquisitions were repeated 80 times with alternating inhalation of room air and oxygen. The oxygen-induced signal increase showed no significant difference with and without parallel imaging. However, only with parallel imaging did the interleaved acquisition of six or more slices become possible, thus enabling a more complete anatomic coverage of the lung. The average required end-expiration time per repetition to acquire six slices could be significantly reduced from 4112 ms without to 2727 ms with parallel imaging. Total acquisition time varied between 8 and 13 min depending on the respiratory frequency.

Adult↗

A nonlinear regression analysis of nonlinear, passive-deflation flow-volume plots.

When studying lung mechanics of intubated premature infants, by the passive-deflation technique we noted that in many flow-volume plots the descending limb was curvilinear with a convexity toward the volume axis. By conventional linear analysis lung mechanics of these patients did not change after the administration of terbutaline, but Mead's tangent-chord slope ratio method for quantifying the amount of curvature showed that the shape of the flow-volume plots did change. Because of the limitations of this method, we developed a microcomputer-based, reiterative regression algorithm which optimizes a nonlinear function for the best fit to any given set of data. We then studied six very low birth weight infants with clinical evidence of pulmonary gas trapping (weight at study, 1.22 +/- 0.29 kg; age, 26 +/- 16 days). We measured respiratory system resistance (Rrs), compliance (Crs), and expiratory time constants (TCrs) by the passive deflation technique before and after subcutaneous administration of 0.02 mg/kg of terbutaline. No effect of terbutaline in a dose sufficient to increase heart rate > 25 beats/min was observed. The same data analyzed using the nonlinear regression technique with a function based upon a two compartment model of parallel inhomogeneities revealed one compartment with relatively normal Rrs, Crs, and TCrs values, and a second compartment with a very high Rrs. The latter fell by 50% after terbutaline. These data suggest that abnormalities of airway resistance in ventilated preterm infants are not easily identifiable by classic linear analysis of lung mechanics.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Airway Resistance↗

Quantitative assessment of regional myocardial function in a rat model of myocardial infarction using tagged MRI.

We characterized global and regional left ventricular (LV) function during post myocardium infarction (MI) remodeling in rats, which has been incompletely described by previous MRI studies. To assess regional wall motion, four groups of infarcted animals corresponding to 1-2, 3-4, 6-8 and 9-12 weeks post-MI respectively were imaged using a fast gradient echo sequence with a 2D spatial modulation of magnetization (SPAMM) tagging preparation. An additional group was serially imaged (1-2 and 6-7 weeks post-MI) to assess the global function. Regional and global functional parameters of infarcted rats were compared to non-infarcted normal rats. Compared to normal rats, a decrease in ejection fraction (70 +/-7 vs. 40 +/- 8%, p<0.05) was observed in rats with MI. Maximal and minimal principal stretches (lambda1, lambda2) and strains (E1, E2), principal angle (beta) and displacement varied regionally in normal rats but deviated significantly from the normal values in rats with MI particularly in the infarcted and adjacent zones. Not only was strain magnitude reduced segmentally post-MI, but strain direction became more circumferentially oriented, particularly in rats with larger infarctions. We report the first regional myocardial strain values in normal and infarcted rats. These results parallel findings in humans, and provide a unique tool to examine regional mechanical influences on the remodeling process.

Algorithms↗

Allosteric voltage gating of potassium channels II. Mslo channel gating charge movement in the absence of Ca(2+).

Large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels can be activated by membrane voltage in the absence of Ca(2+) binding, indicating that these channels contain an intrinsic voltage sensor. The properties of this voltage sensor and its relationship to channel activation were examined by studying gating charge movement from mSlo Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels in the virtual absence of Ca(2+) (<1 nM). Charge movement was measured in response to voltage steps or sinusoidal voltage commands. The charge-voltage relationship (Q-V) is shallower and shifted to more negative voltages than the voltage-dependent open probability (G-V). Both ON and OFF gating currents evoked by brief (0.5-ms) voltage pulses appear to decay rapidly (tau(ON) = 60 microseconds at +200 mV, tau(OFF) = 16 microseconds at -80 mV). However, Q(OFF) increases slowly with pulse duration, indicating that a large fraction of ON charge develops with a time course comparable to that of I(K) activation. The slow onset of this gating charge prevents its detection as a component of I(gON), although it represents approximately 40% of the total charge moved at +140 mV. The decay of I(gOFF) is slowed after depolarizations that open mSlo channels. Yet, the majority of open channel charge relaxation is too rapid to be limited by channel closing. These results can be understood in terms of the allosteric voltage-gating scheme developed in the preceding paper (Horrigan, F.T., J. Cui, and R.W. Aldrich. 1999. J. Gen. Physiol. 114:277-304). The model contains five open (O) and five closed (C) states arranged in parallel, and the kinetic and steady-state properties of mSlo gating currents exhibit multiple components associated with C-C, O-O, and C-O transitions.

Algorithms↗

Stability of a one-dimensional discrete-time asynchronous swarm.

In this correspondence, we consider a discrete time one-dimensional asynchronous swarm. First, we describe the mathematical model for motions of the swarm members. Then, we analyze the stability properties of that model. The stability concept that we consider, which matches exactly with stability of equilibria in control theory, characterizes stability of a particular position (relative arrangement) of the swarm members. We call that position the comfortable position (with comfortable intermember distances). Our swarm model and stability analysis are different from other asynchronous swarm models considered in the literature. In particular, in our analysis we employ results on contractive mappings from the parallel and distributed computation literature. The application of these results to the swarm coordination problem is important by itself since they might prove useful also in n-dimensional swarms.

Algorithms↗

Fitting mixed-effects models for repeated ordinal outcomes with the NLMIXED procedure.

This paper presents an analysis of repeated ordinal outcomes arising from two psychological studies. The first case is a repeated measures analysis of variance; the second is a mixed-effects regression in a longitudinal design. In both, the subject-specific variation is modeled by including random effects in the linear predictor (inside a link function) of a generalized linear model. The NLMIXED procedure in SAS is used to fit the mixed-effects models for the categorical response data. The presentation emphasizes the parallel between the model specifications and the SAS statements. The purpose of this paper is to facilitate the use of mixed-effects models in the analysis of repeated ordinal outcomes.

Algorithms↗

Dystonic movement disorders and spinal degenerative disease.

The occurrence of degenerative spinal disease subsequent to dystonic movement disorders has been neglected and has received more attention only recently. Spinal surgery is challenging with regard to continuous mechanical stress when treatment of the underlying movement disorder is insufficient. To characterize better the particular features of degenerative spinal disease in patients with dystonia and to analyze operative strategies, we reviewed the available published data. Epidemiologic studies reveal that degenerative spinal disorders in patients with dystonia and choreoathetosis occur much earlier than in the physiological aging process. Dystonic movement disorders more often affect the spine at higher cervical levels (C(2-5)), in contrast to spinal degeneration with age which manifests more frequently at the middle and lower cervical spine (C(5-7)). Degenerative changes of the cervical spine are more likely to occur on the side where the chin is rotated or tilted to. Various operative approaches for treatment of spinal pathologies have been advocated in patients with dystonic movement disorders. The available data do not allow making firm statements regarding the superiority of one approach over the other. Posterior approaches were first used for decompression, but additional anterior fusion became necessary in many instances. Anterior approaches with or without instrumented fusion yielded more favorable results, but drawbacks are pseudarthrosis and adjacent-level disease. Parallel to the development of posterior fusion techniques, circumferential surgery was suggested to provide a maximum degree of cord decompression and a higher fusion rate. Perioperative local injections of botulinum toxin were used initially to enhance patient comfort with halo immobilization, but they are also applied in patients without external fixation nowadays. Treatment algorithms directed at the underlying movement disorder itself, taking advantage of new techniques of functional neurosurgery, combined with spinal surgery have recently been introduced and show promising results.

Dystonic Disorders↗

Event-related potentials to structural familiar face incongruity processing.

Thirty scalp sites were used to investigate the specific topography of the event-related potentials (ERPs) related to face associative priming when masked eyes of familiar faces were completed with either the proper features or incongruent ones. The enhanced negativity of N210 and N350, due to structural incongruity of faces, have a "category specific" inferotemporal localization on the scalp. Additional analyses support the existence of multiple ERP features within the temporal interval typically associated with N400 (N350 and N380), involving occipitotemporal and centroparietal areas. Seven reliable dipole locations have been evidenced using the brain electrical source analysis algorithm. Some of these localizations (fusiform, parahippocampal) are already known to be involved in face recognition, the other ones being related to general cognitive processes related to the task's demand. Because of their specific topography, the observed effects suggest that the face structural congruency process might involve early specialized neocortical areas in parallel with cortical memory circuits in the integration of perceptual and cognitive face processing.

Adult↗

Correction for acceleration-induced displacement artifacts in phase contrast imaging.

The acceleration-induced displacement artifact impairs the accuracy of MR velocity measurements. This study proposes a post processing method for correction of this artifact. Velocity measurements were performed in a flow phantom containing a constriction. Velocity curves were obtained from streamlines parallel to the frequency, phase, and slice directions, respectively. The acceleration-induced displacement artifact was most prominent when the frequency encoding direction was aligned with the flow direction. After correction, velocity assignment improved and a more accurate description of the flow was obtained. In vivo measurements were performed in the aorta in a patient with a repaired aortic coarctation. The correction method was applied to velocity data along a streamline parallel to the frequency encoding direction. The result after correction was a new location of the peak velocity and improved estimates of the velocity gradients.

Adult↗

Parallel imaging for NMR microscopy at 14.1 Tesla.

Parallel imaging techniques using arrays of mutually decoupled coils have become standard on almost all clinical imaging systems. Such techniques also have great potential for high-field magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy, where measurement times are usually long and susceptibility artifacts can be severe. However, it is technically very challenging to design efficient high-frequency phased arrays for small-diameter, vertical-bore magnets, especially since standard decoupling methods, such as impedance mismatched preamplifiers, cannot be easily integrated. A four-coil phased array was constructed for microimaging at 600 MHz, and sensitivity encoding (SENSE) and generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA) reconstructions of spin-echo and echo-planar images of the mouse brain were performed to reduce imaging time and susceptibility artifacts, respectively.

Algorithms↗

Separating figure from ground with a parallel network.

The differentiation of figure from ground plays an important role in the perceptual organization of visual stimuli. The rapidity with which we can discriminate the inside from the outside of a figure suggests that at least this step in the process may be performed in visual cortex by a large number of neurons in several different areas working together in parallel. We have attempted to simulate this collective computation by designing a network of simple processing units that receives two types of information: bottom-up input from the image containing the outlines of a figure, which may be incomplete, and a top-down attentional input that biases one part of the image to be the inside of the figure. No presegmentation of the image was assumed. Two methods for performing the computation were explored: gradient descent, which seeks locally optimal states, and simulated annealing, which attempts to find globally optimal states by introducing noise into the computation. For complete outlines, gradient descent was faster, but the range of input parameters leading to successful performance was very narrow. In contrast, simulated annealing was more robust: it worked over a wider range of attention parameters and a wider range of outlines, including incomplete ones. Our network model is too simplified to serve as a model of human performance, but it does demonstrate that one global property of outlines can be computed through local interactions in a parallel network. Some features of the model, such as the role of noise in escaping from nonglobal optima, may generalize to more realistic models.

Algorithms↗

Intensity modulated radiation therapy using laser-accelerated protons: a Monte Carlo dosimetric study.

In this paper we present Monte Carlo studies of intensity modulated radiation therapy using laser-accelerated proton beams. Laser-accelerated protons coming out of a solid high-density target have broad energy and angular spectra leading to dose distributions that cannot be directly used for therapeutic applications. Through the introduction of a spectrometer-like particle selection system that delivers small pencil beams of protons with desired energy spectra it is feasible to use laser-accelerated protons for intensity modulated radiotherapy. The method presented in this paper is a three-dimensional modulation in which the proton energy spectrum and intensity of each individual beamlet are modulated to yield a homogeneous dose in both the longitudinal and lateral directions. As an evaluation of the efficacy of this method, it has been applied to two prostate cases using a variety of beam arrangements. We have performed a comparison study between intensity modulated photon plans and those for laser-accelerated protons. For identical beam arrangements and the same optimization parameters, proton plans exhibit superior coverage of the target and sparing of neighbouring critical structures. Dose-volume histogram analysis of the resulting dose distributions shows up to 50% reduction of dose to the critical structures. As the number of fields is decreased, the proton modality exhibits a better preservation of the optimization requirements on the target and critical structures. It is shown that for a two-beam arrangement (parallel-opposed) it is possible to achieve both superior target coverage with 5% dose inhomogeneity within the target and excellent sparing of surrounding tissue.

Algorithms↗

Sampling conditions of 3D parallel and fan-beam x-ray CT with application to helical tomography.

We give the sampling conditions of the 3D fan-beam x-ray transform (3DFBXRT). The motivation of this work lies in the fact that helical tomography with a single detector line is simply a sampling of this transform under the helical constraint. We give a precise description of the geometry of the essential support of the 3DFBXRT Fourier transform and show how to derive efficient sampling schemes. We then give efficient sampling schemes in parallel helical tomography. We present numerical experiments showing that efficient sampling on hexagonal interlaced schemes yields better reconstructions than the standard schemes in both parallel helical tomography (using QDO) and 3DFBXRT. We discuss the practical drawbacks and advantages of these efficient schemes and the possible extension to fan-beam helical CT.

Algorithms↗

Evidence for using Monte Carlo calculated wall attenuation and scatter correction factors for three styles of graphite-walled ion chamber.

The basic equation for establishing a 60Co air-kerma standard based on a cavity ionization chamber includes a wall correction term that corrects for the attenuation and scatter of photons in the chamber wall. For over a decade, the validity of the wall correction terms determined by extrapolation methods (K(w)K(cep)) has been strongly challenged by Monte Carlo (MC) calculation methods (K(wall)). Using the linear extrapolation method with experimental data, K(w)K(cep) was determined in this study for three different styles of primary-standard-grade graphite ionization chamber: cylindrical, spherical and plane-parallel. For measurements taken with the same 60Co source, the air-kerma rates for these three chambers, determined using extrapolated K(w)K(cep) values, differed by up to 2%. The MC code 'EGSnrc' was used to calculate the values of K(wall) for these three chambers. Use of the calculated K(wall) values gave air-kerma rates that agreed within 0.3%. The accuracy of this code was affirmed by its reliability in modelling the complex structure of the response curve obtained by rotation of the non-rotationally symmetric plane-parallel chamber. These results demonstrate that the linear extrapolation technique leads to errors in the determination of air-kerma.

Algorithms↗

Controlling spatio-temporal chaos in the scenario of the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.

We discuss some issues related with the process of controlling space-time chaotic states in the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. We address the problem of gathering control over turbulent regimes with the use of only a limited number of controllers, each one of them implementing, in parallel, a local control technique for restoring an unstable plane-wave solution. We show that the system extension does not influence the density of controllers needed in order to achieve control.

Algorithms↗