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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,135 records · Page 63
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Platform for Post-Processing Waveform-Based NDE

Signal- and image-processing methods are commonly needed to extract information from the waves, improve resolution of, and highlight defects in an image. Since some similarity exists for all waveform-based nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, it would seem that a common software platform containing multiple signal- and image-processing techniques to process the waveforms and images makes sense where multiple techniques, scientists, engineers, and organizations are involved. NDE Wave & Image Processor Version 2.0 software provides a single, integrated signal- and image-processing and analysis environment for total NDE data processing and analysis. It brings some of the most useful algorithms developed for NDE over the past 20 years into a commercial-grade product. The software can import signal/spectroscopic data, image data, and image series data. This software offers the user hundreds of basic and advanced signal- and image-processing capabilities including esoteric 1D and 2D wavelet-based de-noising, de-trending, and filtering. Batch processing is included for signal- and image-processing capability so that an optimized sequence of processing operations can be applied to entire folders of signals, spectra, and images. Additionally, an extensive interactive model-based curve-fitting facility has been included to allow fitting of spectroscopy data such as from Raman spectroscopy. An extensive joint-time frequency module is included for analysis of non-stationary or transient data such as that from acoustic emission, vibration, or earthquake data.

Roth, Don J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Real-time image denoising of mixed Poisson–Gaussian noise in fluorescence microscopy images using ImageJ

Fluorescence microscopy imaging speed is fundamentally limited by the measurement signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To improve image SNR for a given image acquisition rate, computational denoising techniques can be used to suppress noise. However, common techniques to estimate a denoised image from a single frame either are computationally expensive or rely on simple noise statistical models. These models assume Poisson or Gaussian noise statistics, which are not appropriate for many fluorescence microscopy applications that contain quantum shot noise and electronic Johnson–Nyquist noise, therefore a mixture of Poisson and Gaussian noise. In this paper, we show convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained on mixed Poisson and Gaussian noise images to overcome the limitations of existing image denoising methods. The trained CNN is presented as an open-source ImageJ plugin that performs real-time image denoising (within tens of milliseconds) with superior performance (SNR improvement) compared to conventional fluorescence microscopy denoising methods. The method is validated on external datasets with out-of-distribution noise, contrast, structure, and imaging modalities from the training data and consistently achieves high-performance ( > <#comment/> 8 d B ) denoising in less time than other fluorescence microscopy denoising methods.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2013

MASS ESTIMATES OF RAPIDLY MOVING PROMINENCE MATERIAL FROM HIGH-CADENCE EUV IMAGES

We present a new method for determining the column density of erupting filament material using state-of-the-art multi-wavelength imaging data. Much of the prior work on filament/prominence structure can be divided between studies that use a polychromatic approach with targeted campaign observations and those that use synoptic observations, frequently in only one or two wavelengths. The superior time resolution, sensitivity, and near-synchronicity of data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Advanced Imaging Assembly allow us to combine these two techniques using photoionization continuum opacity to determine the spatial distribution of hydrogen in filament material. We apply the combined techniques to SDO/AIA observations of a filament that erupted during the spectacular coronal mass ejection on 2011 June 7. The resulting 'polychromatic opacity imaging' method offers a powerful way to track partially ionized gas as it erupts through the solar atmosphere on a regular basis, without the need for coordinated observations, thereby readily offering regular, realistic mass-distribution estimates for models of these erupting structures.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Partially Collapsed Gibbs Samplers for Linear Inverse Problems and Applications to X-ray Imaging

Deblurring is one of the most common linear inverse problems in imaging, and most methods for deblurring an image assume that the convolution kernel, the so-called point spread function (PSF), is known or attempt to reconstruct the PSF simultaneously with the image. For many experimental imaging systems, like high energy X-ray radiography systems, the PSF must be computed from calibration imagery. The associated inverse problem is large-scale, so, in order to compute meaningful uncertainties with the reconstruction, it is common to use hierarchical Bayesian models and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods for sampling from the posterior. Classical Gibbs samplers can suffer from long autocorrelation lengths in the Markov chain when the reconstructed quantity in the inverse problem is finely discretized, resulting in poor computational efficiency of the Markov chain. In this work we present partially collapsed Gibbs samplers for linear inverse problems that greatly decrease correlations in the Markov chain, thus increasing the computational efficiency of the algorithms, and we present the results of the enhanced samplers on the problem of reconstructing the point spread function for an X-ray imaging system at the U.S. Department of Energy's Nevada National Security Site.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-J-28: Gantry Speed Significantly Affects Image Quality and Imaging Dose for 4D Cone-Beam Computed Tomography On the Varian Edge Platform

Purpose: 4D-CBCT facilitates assessment of tumor motion at treatment position. We investigated the effect of gantry speed on 4D-CBCT image quality and dose using the Varian Edge On-Board Imager (OBI). Methods: A thoracic protocol was designed using a 125 kVp spectrum. Image quality parameters were obtained via 4D acquisition using a Catphan phantom with a gating system. A sinusoidal waveform was executed with a five second period and superior-inferior motion. 4D-CBCT scans were sorted into 4 and 10 phases. Image quality metrics included spatial resolution, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), uniformity index (UI), Hounsfield unit (HU) sensitivity, and RMS error (RMSE) of motion amplitude. Dosimetry was accomplished using Gafchromic XR-QA2 films within a CIRS Thorax phantom. This was placed on the gating phantom using the same motion waveform. Results: High contrast resolution decreased linearly from 5.93 to 4.18 lp/cm, 6.54 to 4.18 lp/cm, and 5.19 to 3.91 lp/cm for averaged, 4 phase, and 10 phase 4DCBCT volumes respectively as gantry speed increased from 1.0 to 6.0 degs/sec. CNRs decreased linearly from 4.80 to 1.82 as the gantry speed increased from 1.0 to 6.0 degs/sec, respectively. No significant variations in UIs, HU sensitivities, or RMSEs were observed with variable gantry speed. Ion chamber measurements compared to film yielded small percent differences in plastic water regions (0.1–9.6%), larger percent differences in lung equivalent regions (7.5–34.8%), and significantly larger percent differences in bone equivalent regions (119.1–137.3%). Ion chamber measurements decreased from 17.29 to 2.89 cGy with increasing gantry speed from 1.0 to 6.0 degs/sec. Conclusion: Maintaining technique factors while changing gantry speed changes the number of projections used for reconstruction. Increasing the number of projections by decreasing gantry speed decreases noise, however, dose is increased. The future of 4DCBCT’s clinical utility relies on further investigation of image optimization.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1993

A morphological filter for removing 'Cirrus-like' emission from far-infrared extragalactic IRAS fields

The presence of diffuse extended IR emission from the Galaxy in the form of the so called 'Galactic Cirrus' emission has hampered the exploration of the extragalactic sky at long IR wavelengths. We describe the development of a filter based on mathematical morphology which appears to be a promising approach to the problem of cirrus removal. The method of Greyscale Morphology was applied to a 100 micron IRAS image of the M81 group of galaxies. This is an extragalactic field which suffers from serious contamination from foreground Galactic 'cirrus'. Using a technique called 'sieving', it was found that the cirrus emission has a characteristic behavior which can be quantified in terms of an average spatial structure spectrum or growth function. This function was then used to attempt to remove 'cirrus' from the entire image. The result was a significant reduction of cirrus emission by an intensity factor of 15 compared with the original input image. The method appears to preserve extended emission in the spatially extended IR disks of M81 and M82 as well as distinguishing fainter galaxies within bright regions of galactic cirrus. The techniques may also be applicable to IR databases obtained with the Cosmic Background Explorer.

Appleton, P. N.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Surface Emissivity Derived From Multispectral Satellite Data

Surface emissivity is critical for remote sensing of surface skin temperature and infrared cloud properties when the observed radiance is influenced by the surface radiation. It is also necessary to correctly compute the longwave flux from a surface at a given skin temperature. Surface emissivity is difficult to determine because skin temperature is an ill-defined parameter. The surface-emitted radiation may arise from a range of surface depths depending on many factors including soil moisture, vegetation, surface porosity, and heat capacity. Emissivity can be measured in the laboratory for pure surfaces. Transfer of laboratory measurements to actual Earth surfaces, however, is fraught with uncertainties because of their complex nature. This paper describes a new empirical approach for estimating surface skin temperature from a combination of brightness temperatures measured at different infrared wavelengths with satellite imagers. The method uses data from the new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imager to determine multispectral emissivities from the skin temperatures derived over the ARM Southern Great Plains domain.

Minnis, P.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Systems, computer-implemented methods, and tangible computer-readable storage media for wide-field interferometry

Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and tangible computer-readable storage media for wide field imaging interferometry. The method includes for each point in a two dimensional detector array over a field of view of an image: gathering a first interferogram from a first detector and a second interferogram from a second detector, modulating a path-length for a signal from an image associated with the first interferogram in the first detector, overlaying first data from the modulated first detector and second data from the second detector, and tracking the modulating at every point in a two dimensional detector array comprising the first detector and the second detector over a field of view for the image. The method then generates a wide-field data cube based on the overlaid first data and second data for each point. The method can generate an image from the wide-field data cube.

Lyon, Richard G.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Compact endocavity diagnostic probes for nuclear radiation detection

This invention relates to the field of radiation imaging. In particular, the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for imaging tissue or an inanimate object using a novel probe that has an integrated solid-state semiconductor detector and complete readout electronics circuitry.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1992

Recognition and characterization of hierarchical interstellar structure. II - Structure tree statistics

A new method of image analysis is described, in which images partitioned into 'clouds' are represented by simplified skeleton images, called structure trees, that preserve the spatial relations of the component clouds while disregarding information concerning their sizes and shapes. The method can be used to discriminate between images of projected hierarchical (multiply nested) and random three-dimensional simulated collections of clouds constructed on the basis of observed interstellar properties, and even intermediate systems formed by combining random and hierarchical simulations. For a given structure type, the method can distinguish between different subclasses of models with different parameters and reliably estimate their hierarchical parameters: average number of children per parent, scale reduction factor per level of hierarchy, density contrast, and number of resolved levels. An application to a column density image of the Taurus complex constructed from IRAS data is given. Moderately strong evidence for a hierarchical structural component is found, and parameters of the hierarchy, as well as the average volume filling factor and mass efficiency of fragmentation per level of hierarchy, are estimated. The existence of nested structure contradicts models in which large molecular clouds are supposed to fragment, in a single stage, into roughly stellar-mass cores.

Houlahan, Padraig↗
DOE OSTI2014

Imaging the condensation and evaporation of molecularly thin ethanol films with surface forces apparatus

A new method for imaging condensation and evaporation of molecularly thin ethanol films is reported. It is found that the first adsorbed layer of ethanol film on mica surface behaves as solid like structure that cannot flow freely. With the increase of exposure time, more ethanol molecules condense over the mica surface in the saturated ethanol vapor condition. The first layer of adsorbed ethanol film is about 3.8 Å thick measured from the surface forces apparatus, which is believed to be the average diameter of ethanol molecules while they are confined in between two atomically smooth mica surfaces.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

WE-FG-207B-02: Material Reconstruction for Spectral Computed Tomography with Detector Response Function

Purpose: Different from the conventional computed tomography (CT), spectral CT based on energy-resolved photon-counting detectors is able to provide the unprecedented material composition. However, an important missing piece for accurate spectral CT is to incorporate the detector response function (DRF), which is distorted by factors such as pulse pileup and charge-sharing. In this work, we propose material reconstruction methods for spectral CT with DRF. Methods: The polyenergetic X-ray forward model takes the DRF into account for accurate material reconstruction. Two image reconstruction methods are proposed: a direct method based on the nonlinear data fidelity from DRF-based forward model; a linear-data-fidelity based method that relies on the spectral rebinning so that the corresponding DRF matrix is invertible. Then the image reconstruction problem is regularized with the isotropic TV term and solved by alternating direction method of multipliers. Results: The simulation results suggest that the proposed methods provided more accurate material compositions than the standard method without DRF. Moreover, the proposed method with linear data fidelity had improved reconstruction quality from the proposed method with nonlinear data fidelity. Conclusion: We have proposed material reconstruction methods for spectral CT with DRF, whichprovided more accurate material compositions than the standard methods without DRF. Moreover, the proposed method with linear data fidelity had improved reconstruction quality from the proposed method with nonlinear data fidelity. Jiulong Liu and Hao Gao were partially supported by the NSFC (#11405105), the 973 Program (#2015CB856000), and the Shanghai Pujiang Talent Program (#14PJ1404500).

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2013

Method for Enhancing a Three Dimensional Image from a Plurality of Frames of Flash LIDAR Data

A method for enhancing a three dimensional image from frames of flash LIDAR data includes generating a first distance R(sub i) from a first detector i to a first point on a surface S(sub i). After defining a map with a mesh theta having cells k, a first array S(k), a second array M(k), and a third array D(k) are initialized. The first array corresponds to the surface, the second array corresponds to the elevation map, and the third array D(k) receives an output for the DEM. The surface is projected onto the mesh theta, so that a second distance R(sub k) from a second point on the mesh theta to the detector can be found. From this, a height may be calculated, which permits the generation of a digital elevation map. Also, using sequential frames of flash LIDAR data, vehicle control is possible using an offset between successive frames.

Vanek, Michael D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

CCD imaging sensors

A method for promoting quantum efficiency (QE) of a CCD imaging sensor for UV, far UV and low energy x-ray wavelengths by overthinning the back side beyond the interface between the substrate and the photosensitive semiconductor material, and flooding the back side with UV prior to using the sensor for imaging. This UV flooding promotes an accumulation layer of positive states in the oxide film over the thinned sensor to greatly increase QE for either frontside or backside illumination. A permanent or semipermanent image (analog information) may be stored in a frontside SiO.sub.2 layer over the photosensitive semiconductor material using implanted ions for a permanent storage and intense photon radiation for a semipermanent storage. To read out this stored information, the gate potential of the CCD is biased more negative than that used for normal imaging, and excess charge current thus produced through the oxide is integrated in the pixel wells for subsequent readout by charge transfer from well to well in the usual manner.

Janesick, James R.↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-I-41: Dictionary Learning Based Quantitative Reconstruction for Low-Dose Dual-Energy CT (DECT)

Purpose: DECT collects two sets of projection data under higher and lower energies. With appropriates composition methods on linear attenuation coefficients, quantitative information about the object, such as density, can be obtained. In reality, one of the important problems in DECT is the radiation dose due to doubled scans. This work is aimed at establishing a dictionary learning based reconstruction framework for DECT for improved image quality while reducing the imaging dose. Methods: In our method, two dictionaries were learned respectively from the high-energy and lowenergy image datasets of similar objects under normal dose in advance. The linear attenuation coefficient was decomposed into two basis components with material based composition method. An iterative reconstruction framework was employed. Two basis components were alternately updated with DECT datasets and dictionary learning based sparse constraints. After one updating step under the dataset fidelity constraints, both high-energy and low-energy images can be obtained from the two basis components. Sparse constraints based on the learned dictionaries were applied to the high- and low-energy images to update the two basis components. The iterative calculation continues until a pre-set number of iteration was reached. Results: We evaluated the proposed dictionary learning method with dual energy images collected using a DECT scanner. We re-projected the projection data with added Poisson noise to reflect the low-dose situation. The results obtained by the proposed method were compared with that obtained using FBP based method and TV based method. It was found that the proposed approach yield better results than other methods with higher resolution and less noise. Conclusion: The use of dictionary learned from DECT images under normal dose is valuable and leads to improved results with much lower imaging dose.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1994

Beyond maximum entropy: Fractal Pixon-based image reconstruction

We have developed a new Bayesian image reconstruction method that has been shown to be superior to the best implementations of other competing methods, including Goodness-of-Fit methods such as Least-Squares fitting and Lucy-Richardson reconstruction, as well as Maximum Entropy (ME) methods such as those embodied in the MEMSYS algorithms. Our new method is based on the concept of the pixon, the fundamental, indivisible unit of picture information. Use of the pixon concept provides an improved image model, resulting in an image prior which is superior to that of standard ME. Our past work has shown how uniform information content pixons can be used to develop a 'Super-ME' method in which entropy is maximized exactly. Recently, however, we have developed a superior pixon basis for the image, the Fractal Pixon Basis (FPB). Unlike the Uniform Pixon Basis (UPB) of our 'Super-ME' method, the FPB basis is selected by employing fractal dimensional concepts to assess the inherent structure in the image. The Fractal Pixon Basis results in the best image reconstructions to date, superior to both UPB and the best ME reconstructions. In this paper, we review the theory of the UPB and FPB pixon and apply our methodology to the reconstruction of far-infrared imaging of the galaxy M51. The results of our reconstruction are compared to published reconstructions of the same data using the Lucy-Richardson algorithm, the Maximum Correlation Method developed at IPAC, and the MEMSYS ME algorithms. The results show that our reconstructed image has a spatial resolution a factor of two better than best previous methods (and a factor of 20 finer than the width of the point response function), and detects sources two orders of magnitude fainter than other methods.

Puetter, Richard C.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fluorescent toxins as ion channel activity sensors.

Voltage gated ion channels (VGICs) shape the electrical character of cells by undergoing structural changes in response to membrane depolarization. High-resolution techniques have provided a wealth of data on individual VGIC structures, but the conformational changes of endogenous channels in live cell membranes have remained unexplored. Here, we describe methods for imaging structural changes of voltage-gated K + channels in living cells, using peptidyl toxins labeled with fluorophores that report specific protein conformations. These Endogenous Voltage-sensor Activity Probes (EVAPs) enable study of both VGIC allostery and function in the context of endogenous live-cell membranes under different physiological states. In this chapter, we describe methods for the synthesis, imaging, and analysis of dynamic EVAPs, which can report K + channel activity in complex tissue preparations via 2-photon excitation microscopy, and environment-sensitive EVAPs, which report voltage-dependent conformational changes at the VGIC-toxin interface. The methods here present the utility of current EVAPs and lay the groundwork for the development of other probes that act by similar mechanisms. EVAPs can be correlated with electrophysiology, offering insight into the molecular details of endogenous channel function and allostery in live cells. This enables investigation of conformational changes of channels in their native, functional states, putting structures and models into a context of live-cell membranes. The expansive array of state-dependent ligands and optical probes should enable probes more generally for investigating the molecular motions of endogenous proteins.

Stewart, Robert↗
NASA NTRS1998

Thickness-Independent Ultrasonic Imaging Applied to Abrasive Cut-Off Wheels: An Advanced Aerospace Materials Characterization Method for the Abrasives Industry. A NASA Lewis Research Center Technology Transfer Case History

Abrasive cut-off wheels are at times unintentionally manufactured with nonuniformity that is difficult to identify and sufficiently characterize without time-consuming, destructive examination. One particular nonuniformity is a density variation condition occurring around the wheel circumference or along the radius, or both. This density variation, depending on its severity, can cause wheel warpage and wheel vibration resulting in unacceptable performance and perhaps premature failure of the wheel. Conventional nondestructive evaluation methods such as ultrasonic c-scan imaging and film radiography are inaccurate in their attempts at characterizing the density variation because a superimposing thickness variation exists as well in the wheel. In this article, the single transducer thickness-independent ultrasonic imaging method, developed specifically to allow more accurate characterization of aerospace components, is shown to precisely characterize the extent of the density variation in a cut-off wheel having a superimposing thickness variation. The method thereby has potential as an effective quality control tool in the abrasives industry for the wheel manufacturer.

Roth, Don J.↗