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At least 55 records · Page 3

A new electron-ion coincidence 3D momentum-imaging method and its application in probing strong field dynamics of 2-phenylethyl-N, N-dimethylamine

In this paper, we report the development of a new three-dimensional (3D) momentum-imaging setup based on conventional velocity map imaging to achieve the coincidence measurement of photoelectrons and photo-ions. This setup uses only one imaging detector (microchannel plates (MCP)/phosphor screen) but the voltages on electrodes are pulsed to push both electrons and ions toward the same detector. The ion-electron coincidence is achieved using two cameras to capture images of ions and electrons separately. The time-of-flight of ions and electrons are read out from MCP using a digitizer. We demonstrate this new system by studying the dissociative single and double ionization of PENNA (2-phenylethyl-N,N-dimethylamine). Finally, we further show that the camera-based 3D imaging system can operate at 10 kHz repetition rate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A Digital Imaging Method for Evaluating the Kinetics of Vapochromic Response

This work describes the use of a cell phone camera and the L*a*b method (color space specified by the International Commission on Illumination) to characterize the color change in different vapochromic systems. In this study we have developed a semi-automatic color change analysis software that digitally analyzes images (e.g., video frames) collected while a vapochromic material is absorbing vapor. The advantages of using this method, as compared to reflectance spectroscopy or transmission spectroscopy through a thin film, include low cost, convenience, portability, ease of sample preparation, the absence of need for specialized equipment, and the ease of simultaneously collecting data on different samples under identical conditions. In addition, this method arguably provides direct insight into what a human would observe when monitoring these color changes by eye. Limitations of the method also are discussed in this paper.

cell phone camera, colorimetric sensing, vapor det↗

Pulse-Echo Ultrasonic Imaging Method for Eliminating Sample Thickness Variation Effects

A pulse-echo, immersion method for ultrasonic evaluation of a material which accounts for and eliminates nonlevelness in the equipment set-up and sample thickness variation effects employs a single transducer and automatic scanning and digital imaging to obtain an image of a property of the material, such as pore fraction. The nonlevelness and thickness variation effects are accounted for by pre-scan adjustments of the time window to insure that the echoes received at each scan point are gated in the center of the window. This information is input into the scan file so that, during the automatic scanning for the material evaluation, each received echo is centered in its time window. A cross-correlation function calculates the velocity at each scan point, which is then proportionalized to a color or grey scale and displayed on a video screen.

Roth, Don J.↗

Pulse-echo ultrasonic imaging method for eliminating sample thickness variation effects

A pulse-echo, immersion method for ultrasonic evaluation of a material is discussed. It accounts for and eliminates nonlevelness in the equipment set-up and sample thickness variation effects employs a single transducer, automatic scanning and digital imaging to obtain an image of a property of the material, such as pore fraction. The nonlevelness and thickness variation effects are accounted for by pre-scan adjusments of the time window to insure that the echoes received at each scan point are gated in the center of the window. This information is input into the scan file so that, during the automatic scanning for the material evaluation, each received echo is centered in its time window. A cross-correlation function calculates the velocity at each scan point, which is then proportionalized to a color or grey scale and displayed on a video screen.

Roth, Don J.↗

Revealing Soil Organic Matter-mineral Associations with Advanced Chemical Imaging Methods

Although macro-scale in nature, most biogeochemical processes are driven by interactions at the microand nano-scale. Therefore, precise characterization of both organic and inorganic system components requires multi-scale, often multi-capability approaches. In this work, we present the state-of-the-art characterization of organic matter-mineral associations by high-resolution correlated chemical imaging.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Investigation of the effect of structural defects from hydride precipitation on superconducting properties of high purity SRF cavity Nb using magneto-optical and electron imaging methods

Abstract Nb is an elemental superconductor with a critical temperature of 9.3 K and is widely used to fabricate superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities for particle accelerators. However, microstructural defects in Nb, such as grain boundaries (GBs) and dislocations, can act as pinning centers for magnetic flux that can degrade SRF cavity performance. Hydrogen contamination is also detrimental to SRF cavity performance due to the formation of normal conducting hydrides during cool down. In this study, disc shaped Nb bi-crystals extracted from high-purity large-grain Nb slices were investigated to study the effects of GBs, hydrogen, and dislocations on superconducting properties. Grain orientation and GB misorientation were measured using Laue x-ray diffraction and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analyses. Cryogenic magneto-optical imaging was used to directly observe magnetic flux penetration below T c = 9.3 K. Damage caused by low temperature precipitation of hydrides and their dissolution upon reheating after cryogenic cycles was examined using electron channeling contrast imaging, and EBSD. The relationships between hydride formation, dislocation content, GBs, cryo-cooling, heat treatment (HT), and flux penetration indicate that both GB character and hydrogen content affect magnetic flux penetration. Such flux penetration could be facilitated by dislocation structures and low angle GBs resulting from hydride precipitation and HT.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Survey of Image Denoising Methods for Medical Image Classification

Medical imaging devices, such as X-ray machines, inherently produce images that suffer from visual noise. Our objectives were to (i.) determine the effect of image denoising on a medical image classification task, and (ii.) determine if there exists a correlation between image denoising performance and medical image classification performance. We performed the medical image classification task on chest X-rays using the DenseNet-121 convolutional neural network (CNN) and used the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM) metrics as the image denoising performance measures. We first found that different denoising methods can make a statistically significant difference in classification performance for select labels. We also found that denoising methods affect fine-tuned models more than randomly-initialized models and that fine-tuned models have significantly higher and more uniform performance than randomly-initialized models. Lastly, we found that there is no significant correlation between PSNR and SSIM values and classification performance for our task.

Michael, Peter↗

Poster - 10: QA of Ultrasound Images for Prostate Brachytherapy

Purpose: The current QA protocol of ultrasound systems used in prostate brachytherapy (TG128) addresses geometrical verifications, but the scope of evaluation of image quality is limited. We recognized importance of the latter in routine practice, and designed a protocol for QA of the images. Methods: Images of an ultrasound prostate phantom (CIRS053) were collected with BK Flex Focus 400. The images were saved as bmp after adjusting the gain to 50% for consistent results. Mean pixel values and signal to noise ratio were inspected in the representative sections of the phantom, including the mock prostate and the unechoic medium. Constancy of these numbers over a one year period was looked at. Results: The typical intensity in the mock prostate region in the transverse images ranged between 95 and 118 (out of 256), and the signal to noise was about 10. The intensity in the urethra region was about 170±40, and the unechoic medium was 2±2. The mean and the signal to noise ratio remained almost unchanged after a year, while the signal in the unechoic medium increased to about 7±4. Similar values were obtained in the sagittal images. Conclusions: The image analysis discussed above allows quick evaluation of constancy of the image quality. This may be also useful in troubleshooting image-quality problems during routine exams, which might not be due to deterioration of the US system, but other reasons, e.g. variations in tissue properties or air being trapped between the probe and the anatomy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Methods, compositions and kits for imaging cells and tissues using nanoparticles and spatial frequency heterodyne imaging

Methods, compositions, systems, devices and kits are provided herein for preparing and using a nanoparticle composition and spatial frequency heterodyne imaging for visualizing cells or tissues. In various embodiments, the nanoparticle composition includes at least one of: a nanoparticle, a polymer layer, and a binding agent, such that the polymer layer coats the nanoparticle and is for example a polyethylene glycol, a polyelectrolyte, an anionic polymer, or a cationic polymer, and such that the binding agent that specifically binds the cells or the tissue. Methods, compositions, systems, devices and kits are provided for identifying potential therapeutic agents in a model using the nanoparticle composition and spatial frequency heterodyne imaging.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Evaluation of Digital Image Recognition Methods for Mass Spectrometry Imaging Data Analysis

Analyzing mass spectrometry imaging data can be laborious and time consuming, and as the size and complexity of datasets grow, so does the need for robust automated processing methods. We here present a method for comprehensive, semi-targeted discovery of molecular distributions of interest from mass spectrometry imaging data, using widely available image similarity scoring algorithms to rank images by spatial correlation. A fast and powerful batch search method using a MATLAB implementation of structural similarity (SSIM) index scoring with a pre-selected reference distribution is demonstrated for two sample imaging datasets, a plant metabolite study using Artemisia annua leaf, and a drug distribution study using maraviroc-dosed macaque tissue. .

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A minimum spanning forest based classification method for dedicated breast CT images

Purpose: To develop and test an automated algorithm to classify different types of tissue in dedicated breast CT images. Methods: Images of a single breast of five different patients were acquired with a dedicated breast CT clinical prototype. The breast CT images were processed by a multiscale bilateral filter to reduce noise while keeping edge information and were corrected to overcome cupping artifacts. As skin and glandular tissue have similar CT values on breast CT images, morphologic processing is used to identify the skin based on its position information. A support vector machine (SVM) is trained and the resulting model used to create a pixelwise classification map of fat and glandular tissue. By combining the results of the skin mask with the SVM results, the breast tissue is classified as skin, fat, and glandular tissue. This map is then used to identify markers for a minimum spanning forest that is grown to segment the image using spatial and intensity information. To evaluate the authors’ classification method, they use DICE overlap ratios to compare the results of the automated classification to those obtained by manual segmentation on five patient images. Results: Comparison between the automatic and the manual segmentation shows that the minimum spanning forest based classification method was able to successfully classify dedicated breast CT image with average DICE ratios of 96.9%, 89.8%, and 89.5% for fat, glandular, and skin tissue, respectively. Conclusions: A 2D minimum spanning forest based classification method was proposed and evaluated for classifying the fat, skin, and glandular tissue in dedicated breast CT images. The classification method can be used for dense breast tissue quantification, radiation dose assessment, and other applications in breast imaging.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Imaging devices including dielectric metamaterial absorbers and related methods

Imaging devices including dielectric metamaterial absorbers and related methods are disclosed. According to an aspect, an imaging device includes a support. The imaging device also includes multiple dielectric metamaterial absorbers attached to the support. Each absorber includes one or more dielectric resonators configured to generate and emit thermal heat upon receipt of electromagnetic energy.

Padilla, Willie John↗