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At least 55 records · Page 3

Internet-based transfer of cardiac ultrasound images

A drawback to large-scale multicentre studies is the time required for the centralized evaluation of diagnostic images. We evaluated the feasibility of digital transfer of echocardiographic images to a central laboratory for rapid and accurate interpretation. Ten patients undergoing trans-oesophageal echocardiographic scanning at three sites had representative single images and multiframe loops stored digitally. The images were analysed in the ordinary way. All images were then transferred via the Internet to a central laboratory and reanalysed by a different observer. The file sizes were 1.5-72 MByte and the transfer rates achieved were 0.6-4.8 Mbit/min. Quantitative measurements were similar between most on-site and central laboratory measurements (all P > 0.25), although measurements differed for left atrial width and pulmonary venous systolic velocities (both P < 0.05). Digital transfer of echocardiographic images and data to a central laboratory may be useful for multicentre trials.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗

ERTS data user investigation to develop a multistage forest sampling inventory system

The author has identified the following significant results. A system to provide precision annotation of predetermined forest inventory sampling units on the ERTS-1 MSS images was developed. In addition, an annotation system for high altitude U2 photographs was completed. MSS bulk image accuracy is good enough to allow the use of one square mile sampling units. IMANCO image analyzer interpretation work for small scale images demonstrated the need for much additional analyses. Continuing image interpretation work for the next reporting period is concentrated on manual image interpretation work as well as digital interpretation system development using the computer compatible tapes.

Langley, P. G.↗

Development, Capabilities, and Impact on Wind Analyses of the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD)

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is a new airborne microwave remote sensor for hurricane observations that is currently under development by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in partnership with the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory/Hurricane Research Division, the University of Central Florida, the University of Michigan, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The instrument is being test flown in January and is expected to participate in the tropical cyclone experiment GRIP (Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes) in the 2010 season. HIRAD is being designed to study the wind field in some detail within strong hurricanes and to enhance the real-time airborne ocean surface winds observation capabilities of NOAA and USAF Weather Squadron hurricane hunter aircraft currently using the operational Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR). Unlike SFMR, which measures wind speed and rain rate along the ground track at a single point directly beneath the aircraft, HIRAD will provide images of the surface wind and rain field over a wide swath (approximately 3 x the aircraft altitude) with approximately 2 km resolution. This paper describes the HIRAD instrument and the physical basis for its operations, including chamber test data from the instrument. The potential value of future HIRAD observations will be illustrated with a summary of Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) in which measurements from the new instrument as well as those from existing instruments (air, surface, and space-based) are simulated from the output of a detailed numerical model, and those results are used to construct simulated H*Wind analyses. Evaluations will be presented on the impact on H*Wind analyses of using the HIRAD instrument observations to replace those of the SFMR instrument, and also on the impact of a future satellite-based HIRAD in comparison to instruments with more limited capabilities for observing strong winds through heavy rain. Potential impact on numerical prediction of hurricane intensity will also be discussed.

Miller, T.↗

Development, Capabilities, and Impact on Wind Analyses of the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD)

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is a new airborne microwave remote sensor for hurricane observations that is currently under development by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in partnership with the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory/Hurricane Research Division, the University of Central Florida, the University of Michigan, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The instrument is being test flown in January and is expected to participate in the tropical cyclone experiment GRIP (Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes) in the 2010 season. HIRAD is being designed to study the wind field in some detail within strong hurricanes and to enhance the real-time airborne ocean surface winds observation capabilities of NOAA and USAF Weather Squadron hurricane hunter aircraft currently using the operational Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR). Unlike SFMR, which measures wind speed and rain rate along the ground track at a single point directly beneath the aircraft, HIRAD will provide images of the surface wind and rain field over a wide swath (approximately 3 x the aircraft altitude) with approximately 2 km resolution. This paper describes the HIRAD instrument and the physical basis for its operations, including chamber test data from the instrument. The potential value of future HIRAD observations will be illustrated with a summary of Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) in which measurements from the new instrument as well as those from existing instruments (air, surface, and space-based) are simulated from the output of a detailed numerical model, and those results are used to construct simulated H*Wind analyses. Evaluations will be presented on the impact on H*Wind analyses of using the HIRAD instrument observations to replace those of the SFMR instrument, and also on the impact of a future satellite-based HIRAD in comparison to instruments with more limited capabilities for observing strong winds through heavy rain. Potential impact on numerical prediction of hurricane intensity will also be discussed.

Miller, T.↗

Capabilities and Impact on Wind Analyses of the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD)

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is a new airborne microwave remote sensor for hurricane observations that is currently under development by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in partnership with the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory/Hurricane Research Division, the University of Central Florida, the University of Michigan, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The instrument is being test flown in January and is expected to participate in or collaborate with the tropical cyclone experiment GRIP (Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes) in the 2010 season. HIRAD is designed to study the wind field in some detail within strong hurricanes and to enhance the real-time airborne ocean surface winds observation capabilities of NOAA and USAF Weather Squadron hurricane hunter aircraft currently using the operational Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR). Unlike SFMR, which measures wind speed and rain rate along the ground track at a single point directly beneath the aircraft, HIRAD will provide images of the surface wind and rain field over a wide swath (approx.3 x the aircraft altitude) with approx.2 km resolution. See Figure 1, which depicts a simulated HIRAD swath versus the line of data obtained by SFMR.

Miller, Timothy L.↗

Static Pressure Orifice Imaging & Data Correlation

The quality of static pressure ports has historically been shown to be capable of biasing the resulting measurements of static pressure over the surface. Some of the flaws in the port quality can be recognized visually through magnified imaging of the port with a microscope. Through digital analyses of images of a large quantity of existing pressure ports and estimation of the deviations from the true static pressure for each port, a correlation could potentially be constructed to estimate whether a port will generate a significant error based upon its surface-level appearance. This presentation pursues this hypothesis through attempted correlation of subsonic data collected on the 4-inch-diameter cone cylinder during the 2019 characterization tests in the NASA Glenn Research Center's 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel (8x6 SWT).

8x6 SWT↗

CSAM Metrology Software Tool

CSAM Metrology Software Tool (CMeST) is a computer program for analysis of false-color CSAM images of plastic-encapsulated microcircuits. (CSAM signifies C-mode scanning acoustic microscopy.) The colors in the images indicate areas of delamination within the plastic packages. Heretofore, the images have been interpreted by human examiners. Hence, interpretations have not been entirely consistent and objective. CMeST processes the color information in image-data files to detect areas of delamination without incurring inconsistencies of subjective judgement. CMeST can be used to create a database of baseline images of packages acquired at given times for comparison with images of the same packages acquired at later times. Any area within an image can be selected for analysis, which can include examination of different delamination types by location. CMeST can also be used to perform statistical analyses of image data. Results of analyses are available in a spreadsheet format for further processing. The results can be exported to any data-base-processing software.

Vu, Duc↗

Thematic mapper data quality and performance assessment in renewable resource/agricultural remote sensing

A "quick look" investigation of the initial LANDSAT-4, thematic mapper (TM) scene received from Goddard Space Flight Center was performed to gain early insight into the characteristics of TM data. The initial scene, containing only the first four bands of the seven bands recorded by the TM, was acquired over the Detroit, Michigan, area on July 20, 1982. It yielded abundant information for scientific investigation. A wide variety of studies were conducted to assess all aspects of TM data. They ranged from manual analyses of image products to detect obvious optical, electronic, or mechanical defects to detailed machine analyses of the digital data content for evaluation of spectral separability of vegetative/nonvegetative classes. These studies were applied to several segments extracted from the full scene. No attempt was made to perform end-to-end statistical evaluations. However, the output of these studies do identify a degree of positive performance from the TM and its potential for advancing state-of-the-art crop inventory and condition assessment technology.

Erickson, J. D.↗

Metric Learning to Enhance Hyperspectral Image Segmentation

Unsupervised hyperspectral image segmentation can reveal spatial trends that show the physical structure of the scene to an analyst. They highlight borders and reveal areas of homogeneity and change. Segmentations are independently helpful for object recognition, and assist with automated production of symbolic maps. Additionally, a good segmentation can dramatically reduce the number of effective spectra in an image, enabling analyses that would otherwise be computationally prohibitive. Specifically, using an over-segmentation of the image instead of individual pixels can reduce noise and potentially improve the results of statistical post-analysis. In this innovation, a metric learning approach is presented to improve the performance of unsupervised hyperspectral image segmentation. The prototype demonstrations attempt a superpixel segmentation in which the image is conservatively over-segmented; that is, the single surface features may be split into multiple segments, but each individual segment, or superpixel, is ensured to have homogenous mineralogy.

Thompson, David R.↗

Automated matching of pairs of SIR-B images for elevation mapping

During the SIR-B mission in October 1984, a significant number of overlapping synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of various ground areas was collected. This has offered the first opportunity to perform stereo analyses on images from space that cover large ground areas to determine elevation information. This paper presents the preliminary results of an investigation to obtain elevation data from stereo pairs of SIR-B images. First, the accuracy with which elevation information can be derived from SIR-B image pairs is evaluated theoretically. It is shown that elevation accuracy is a function of the slant range resolution, the incidence angles with which the stereo pair is obtained, the accuracies in spacecraft state estimation, and determination of corresponding pixels in the stereo pair. Next, a hierarchical method is developed to match the corresponding pixels. This method involves iterative removal of local distortions and correlations of pairs of local neighborhoods in the two images. Since it is necessary to perform the matching at every pixel in the image, it is very computationally intensive. Therefore, it has been implemented on the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The MPP's speed permits two iterations of this technique to operate on a pair of 512 x 512 images within 7 s. Results of applying this algorithm of SIR-B images of Mount Shasta, CA, are shown. The matching algorithm performs well in regions of the image with significant features. An approximate elevation image derived from the matching process corresponds to published topographic map data, except for certain obvious discontinuities.

Ramapriyan, H. K.↗

Edge detection and image segmentation of space scenes using fractal analyses

A method was developed for segmenting images of space scenes into manmade and natural components, using fractal dimensions and lacunarities. Calculations of these parameters are presented. Results are presented for a variety of aerospace images, showing that it is possible to perform edge detections of manmade objects against natural background such as those seen in an aerospace environment.

Cleghorn, Timothy F.↗

Advanced X ray Astrophysics Facility-Imaging (AXAF-I) thermal analyses using Integrated Thermal Analysis System (ITAS) program

The complex geometry and stringent thermal requirements associated with the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility - Imaging (AXAF-I) necessitate a detailed and accurate thermal analysis of the proposed system. A brief description of said geometry and thermal requirements is included. Among the tools considered for the aforementioned analysis is a PC-compatible version of the Integrated Thermal Analysis System (ITAS). Several bench-mark studies were performed to evaluate the capabilities of ITAS and to compare the corresponding results with those obtained using TRASYS and SINDA. Comparative studies were conducted for a typical Space Station module. Four models were developed using various combinations of the available software packages (i.e. ITAS, SINDA, and TRASYS). Orbital heating and heat transfer calculations were performed to determine the temperature distributions along the surfaces of this module. A comparison of the temperature distributions obtained for each of the four cases is presented. Results of this investigation were used to verify the different ITAS modules including those used for model generation, steady state and transient orbital heating analyses, radiative and convective heat flow analyses, and SINDA/TRASYS model translation. The results suggest that ITAS is well suited to subsequent analyses of the AXAF-I.

Ghaffarian, Benny↗

Comparison of NOAA/NMC stratospheric wind analyses with UARS high resolution Doppler Imager wind measurements

The NOAA National Weather Service currently derives global stratospheric wind analyses via several procedures. The first is the operational data assimilation system that extends from the surface up to about 50 mb and is in process of being tested to about 10 mb. In addition, a balanced wind is determined from the available Climate Analysis Center stratospheric height analyses that encompass the 70-0.4 mb region. The High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) recently launched as a member of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is the first satellite instrument designed to measure winds in this stratospheric region and, thus, provide a basic evaluation of the NMC derived products. The HRDI accomplishes this by utilizing a triple-etalon Fabry-Perot interferometer that allows one to measure the Doppler shift of O2 absorption and emission features of the atmosphere, from which the wind field can be determined.

Miller, A. J.↗

Empirical orthogonal function analysis of cloud-containing coastal zone color scanner images of northeastern North American coastal waters

Empirical-orthogonal-function (EOF) analyses were carried out on 36 images of the Mid-Atlantic Bight and the Gulf of Maine, obtained by the CZCS aboard Nimbus 7 for the time period from February 28 through July 9, 1979, with the purpose of determining pigment concentrations in coastal waters. The EOF procedure was modified so as to include images with significant portions of data missing due to cloud obstruction, making it possible to estimate pigment values in areas beneath clouds. The results of image analyses explained observed variances in pigment concentrations and showed a south-to-north pattern corresponding to an April Mid-Atlantic Bight bloom and a June bloom over Nantucket Shoals and Platts Bank.

Eslinger, David L.↗

Characterization and Comparison of LANDSAT-4 and LANDSAT-5 Thematic Mapper Data

Engineering analyses of Thematic Mapper (TM) image data have been conducted, giving particular attention to the radiometric characterization of the sensor. While the data in general were found to be excellent, anomalies do exist in the data from both LANDSAT-4 and LANDSAT-5 TM. A summary is provided of the LANDSAT-5 TM image data. Recent analyses of LANDSAT-5 TM data and comparisons of the radiometry of the two sensors are emphasized. One of the specific topics covered is within-line droop, a phenomenon whereby the signal levels of the sensor change systematically during the active scan. Attention is also given to scan-correlated level shifts, an effect which raises or lowers the signal level of all pixels in a scan line or set of scan lines. A comparison of LANDSAT-4 and LANDSAT-5 radiometric corrections is also discussed.

Malila, W. A.↗

Evaluation of Lunar Dark Mantle Deposits as Key to Future Human Missions

I proposed to continue detailed mapping, analysis and assessment of the lunar pyroclastic dark mantle deposits in support of the Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) initiative. Specifically: (1) I continued gathering data via the Internet and mailable media, and a variety of other digital lunar images including; high resolution digital images of the new Apollo masters from JSC, images from Clementine and Galileo, and recent telescopic images from Hawaii; (2) continued analyses on these images using sophisticated hardware and software at JSC and the College of Charleston to determine and map composition using returned sample data for calibration; (3) worked closely with Dr. David McKay and others at JSC to relate sample data to image data using laboratory spectra from JSC and Brown University; (4) mapped the extent, thickness, and composition of important dark mantle deposits in selected study areas; and (5) began composing a geographically referenced database of lunar pyroclastic materials in the Apollo 17 area. The results have been used to identify and evaluate several candidate landing sites in dark mantle terrains. Additional work spawned from this effort includes the development of an educational CD-Rom on exploring the Moon: Contact Light. Throughout the whole process I have been in contact with the JSC HEDS personnel.

Coombs, Cassandra↗

Geomorphology, tectonics, and exploration

Explorationists interpret satellite images for tectonic features and patterns that may be clues to mineral and energy deposits. The tectonic features of interest range in scale from regional (sedimentary basins, fold belts) to local (faults, fractures) and are generally expressed as geomorphic features in remote sensing images. Explorationists typically employ classic concepts of geomorphology and landform analysis for their interpretations, which leads to the question - Are there new and evolving concepts in geomorphology that may be applicable to tectonic analyses of images?

Sabins, F. F., Jr.↗

The Viking Orbiter Visual Imaging Subsystem

Two Viking spacecraft each consisting of an Orbiter and a Lander are on trajectories toward Mars with arrival dates in June and August 1976. A Visual Imaging Subsystem consisting of two slow-scan television cameras forms part of the scientific payload of each Orbiter. These cameras will be used to evaluate the potential landing sites on Mars and to conduct other scientific investigations of the planet. The camera system described in this paper was subjected to an extensive test and calibration program prior to launch. Based on this calibration and subsequent analyses, absolute photometric accuracies of 8.0% may be achieved. Surface resolution exceeding 100 meters will be achieved from the periapsis portion of the Viking orbits. The inherent geometric accuracies of the Orbiter cameras supersede those of previous planetary missions. The analyses of images acquired during the cruise phase of the mission confirms that the cameras have survived the rigors of launch and are performing in a manner consistent with the prelaunch calibrations.

Wellman, J. B.↗