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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

OPERATING EXPERIENCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO EMBEDDED DIGITAL DEVICES IN SAFETY SYSTEMS

Interest in embedded digital devices (EDDs) for monitoring and providing control of components is increasing and the added functionality digital brings such as diagnostics, displays, control functions is welcomed in both the nuclear and other industries. As a result, pure analog-based components continue to disappear from the industrial I&C marketplace. Equipment with EDDs, also known by related terms such as smart devices, intelligent devices, and digital devices of limited functionality, can include sensors, breakers, priority logic modules, time delay relays, pumps, valve actuators, motor control centers, and uninterruptible power supplies. Not only is equipment consisting of analog and older digital technology being replaced with commercial grade products containing EDDs, but EDDs can also be retrofitted to work with existing components. EDDs may be installed physically within a component, such as in a relay. There are also external devices that some would not consider an EDD, but that operate in almost all technical ways identically to one internal to a component such as in a valve controller. In fact, the digital portions may be located hundreds of feet from the actual component.Due to the potential of being used in an identical manner and without alteration from their application in other industries, operating experience (OpE) for EDDs may be much more applicable than in the case of other more system level devices. Clear separation and independence of functionality provided with EDDs may also allow greater applicability of existing OpE from industry for changes that can be shown not to affect its safety function. However, OpE also demonstrates issues with different conditions between other industries and nuclear power plants, such as issues with undeclared changes or undeclared digital devices and the new failure modes they may introduce, issues with the reporting of OpE in industry, and a lack of transparency into OpE for EDDs.Understanding and addressing these issues will be key in the future use of EDDs in nuclear power plants, but failure rate data is difficult to obtain for EDDs, and lessons learned from the use of EDDs are difficult to collect and identify.Key words: embedded digital device, smart device, operating experience, failure modes

Muhlheim, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2000

Three Conservation Applications of Astronaut Photographs of Earth: Tidal Flat Loss (Japan), Elephant Impacts on Vegetation (Botswana), and Seagrass and Mangrove Monitoring (Australia)

NASA photographs taken from low Earth orbit can provide information relevant to conservation biology. This data source is now more accessible due to improvements in digitizing technology, Internet file transfer, and availability of image processing software. We present three examples of conservation-related projects that benefited from using orbital photographs. (1) A time series of photographs from the Space Shuttle showing wetland conversion in Japan was used as a tool for communicating about the impacts of tidal flat loss. Real-time communication with astronauts about a newsworthy event resulted in acquiring current imagery. These images and the availability of other high resolution digital images from NASA provided timely public information on the observed changes. (2) A Space Shuttle photograph of Chobe National Park in Botswana was digitally classified and analyzed to identify the locations of elephant-impacted woodland. Field validation later confirmed that areas identified on the image showed evidence of elephant impacts. (3) A summary map from intensive field surveys of seagrasses in Shoalwater Bay, Australia was used as reference data for a supervised classification of a digitized photograph taken from orbit. The classification was able to distinguish seagrasses, sediments and mangroves with accuracy approximating that in studies using other satellite remote sensing data. Orbital photographs are in the public domain and the database of nearly 400,000 photographs from the late 1960s to the present is available at a single searchable location on the Internet. These photographs can be used by conservation biologists for general information about the landscape and in quantitative applications.

Lulla, Kamlesh P.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Technical Assistance for Digital Assurance: DistribuTECH Workshop

Idaho National Laboratory, the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, and other national laboratories are collaborating to ensure the U.S. energy infrastructure is reliable, resilient, and secure. This involves strategically leveraging digital technologies to modernize the grid, enhance its resilience against all hazards and disruptions, and fortify national energy security across a diverse energy portfolio. In this workshop you will learn about Idaho National Lab’s Technical Assistance programs, where organizations will be matched with a national laboratory subject matter expert to focus on their key topical area. The technical assistance offered through this track is designed to be responsive to a rapidly changing regulatory landscape and cutting-edge technologies that enhance grid reliability and efficiency. Users will be guided through a tailored analysis and mitigation program to determine their current security posture and given assistance in evaluating supply chain and protection choices against potential consequences.

Digital assurance↗
DOE OSTI2021

Roadmap for Advanced Power System Measurements

Conditions in the electric power grid are changing rapidly. Changes are driven, in particular, by the increased penetration of renewable resources in the generation mix. Part of the solution to dealing with the changing conditions is the better use of measurement systems, taking advantage of the better understanding of measurements that was heralded by digital technology. Another part of the solution is the communication of samples of the directly observable voltages and currents by means of continuous point-on-wave values. The increased bandwidth capability of such a system allows more complicated measurement models to be built at the point of use. Additional measurements and analyses can then be performed. This Roadmap hinges on these two aspects of measuring: improved measurements supported by high-bandwidth (raw data) communications. Following an introduction to the overall subject, the report explores the impact of what can be thought of as the digital revolution in measurement. In essence, that revolution has served to clarify ideas about measurement and is continuing to lead to improved processes. An extensive survey of the relevant literature was performed . Webinars were held to learn from the wider community of practitioners. Based on this information, a number of gaps were identified whose continued existence would hamper the solution of the challenges now facing measurement and communication in the power grid. The underlying value propositions are interoperability (presently not very satisfactory in many measurements); greater (and less challenging) adoption of distributed energy resources; and improved international competitiveness. Underlying all that, of course, is progress toward a more reliable and resilient power system. The identified gaps were addressed in four major thrusts: technology deployment and demonstration, education, instrumentation testing and standards, and analytical methods. For each of the thrusts, multiple goals are defined to guide the implementation. The thrusts were designed to close gaps and unlock high-value use cases. After discussing the literature review, gap analysis, high-value use cases, and research thrusts in chapters 2-5, the report culminates in chapter 6 with a roadmap that links each aspect together to form a unified plan. Developing a research portfolio aligned with this plan will ensure that advanced measurement systems are in place to support reliable operation of the power system as it modernizes.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2014

Computer-Based Procedures for Field Workers - Identified Benefits

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) computer-based procedure (CBP) research team is exploring how best to design a CBP system that will deliver the intended benefits of increased efficiency and improved human performance. It is important to note that no “off-the-shelf” technology exists for the type of CBP system that is investigated and developed by the INL researchers. As more technology is integrated into the procedure process the importance of an appropriate and methodological approach to the design of the procedure system increases. Technological advancements offer great opportunities for efficiency and safety gains, however if the system is not designed correctly there is a large risk of unintentionally introducing new opportunities for human errors. The INL research team is breaking new ground in the area of CBPs with the prototype they have developed. Current electronic procedure systems are most commonly electronic versions of the paper-based procedures with hyperlinks to other procedures, limited user input functionality, and the ability to mark steps completed. These systems do not fully exploit the advantages digital technology. It is a part of the INL researchers’ role to develop and validate new CBP technologies that greatly increase the benefits of a CBP system to the nuclear industry.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Decentralized and Asynchronous Planning for Cooperative Practices in High Altitude Digitally Enabled Operations

Cooperative practices will likely be foundational to future digitally enabled airspace operations characterized by decentralized and asynchronous decision-making. This paper explores the implementation of cooperative practices in high-altitude airspace. The digitally enabled operations framework, under exploratory investigation by NASA as a potential new operating mode, which is enabled and dependent on digital technologies and information sharing, may create new operational possibilities for a wide range of vehicle types and missions. An essential element of the operating mode framework under investigation, cooperative practices, could empower operators to manage critical functions such as deconfliction, equitable airspace usage, and demand-capacity balancing. The use of cooperative practices would involve asynchronous flight information sharing and decentralized conflict management by operators, representing a major change from traditional air traffic services that use synchronous surveillance information to support centralized decision-making by air traffic controllers. This paper details three key components for implementing cooperative practices for decentralized, digitally enabled operations: (a) intent modeling and sharing, (b) conflict detection, and (c) cooperative deconfliction.

cooperative operating practics↗
NASA NTRS1995

Instrument technology for magnetosphere plasma imaging from high Earth orbit. Design of a radio plasma sounder

The use of radio sounding techniques for the study of the ionospheric plasma dates back to G. Briet and M. A. Tuve in 1926. Ground based swept frequency sounders can monitor the electron number density (N(sub e)) as a function of height (the N(sub e) profile). These early instruments evolved into a global network that produced high-resolution displays of echo time delay vs frequency on 35-mm film. These instruments provided the foundation for the success of the International Geophysical Year (1958). The Alouette and International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS) programs pioneered the used of spaceborne, swept frequency sounders to obtain N(sub e) profiles of the topside of the ionosphere, from a position above the electron density maximum. Repeated measurements during the orbit produced an orbital plane contour which routinely provided density measurements to within 10%. The Alouette/ISIS experience also showed that even with a high powered transmitter (compared to the low power sounder possible today) a radio sounder can be compatible with other imaging instruments on the same satellite. Digital technology was used on later spacecraft developed by the Japanese (the EXOS C and D) and the Soviets (Intercosmos 19 and Cosmos 1809). However, a full coherent pulse compression and spectral integrating capability, such as exist today for ground-based sounders (Reinisch et al., 1992), has never been put into space. NASA's 1990 Space Physics Strategy Implementation Study "The NASA Space Physics Program from 1995 to 2010" suggested using radio sounders to study the plasmasphere and the magnetopause and its boundary layers (Green and Fung, 1993). Both the magnetopause and plasmasphere, as well as the cusp and boundary layers, can be observed by a radio sounder in a high-inclination polar orbit with an apogee greater than 6 R(sub e) (Reiff et al., 1994; Calvert et al., 1995). Magnetospheric radio sounding from space will provide remote density measurements of unprecedented precision and coverage in the plasmasphere, inner magnetosphere and magnetopause, from which the structure, inter-relationship, and variations of different plasma regions can be determined (Armstrong Johnson, 1995). A space-borne Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) could provide a unique global view of the magnetosphere revealing the underlying structure of remote plasma regions, thereby providing a framework for the interpretation of images obtained by other techniques as identified in the technical areas TA1 to TA4 in the MSFC NRA8-8.

Haines, D. Mark↗
DOE OSTI2019

Redox transistors for neuromorphic computing

Efficiency bottlenecks inherent to conventional computing in executing neural algorithms have spurred the development of novel devices capable of “in-memory” computing. Commonly known as “memristors,” a variety of device concepts including conducting bridge, vacancy filament, phase change, and other types have been proposed as promising elements in artificial neural networks for executing inference and learning algorithms. In this article, we review the recent advances in memristor technology for neuromorphic computing and discuss strategies for addressing the most significant performance challenges, including nonlinearity, high read/write currents, and endurance. As an alternative to two-terminal memristors, we introduce the three-terminal electrochemical memory based on the redox transistor (RT), which uses a gate to tune the redox state of the channel. Decoupling the “read” and “write” operations using a third terminal and storage of information as a charge-compensated redox reaction in the bulk of the transistor enables high-density information storage. These properties enable low-energy operation without compromising analog performance and nonvolatility. Finally, we discuss the RT operating mechanisms using organic and inorganic materials, approaches for array integration, and prospects for achieving the device density and switching speeds necessary to make electrochemical memory competitive with established digital technology.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Innovative Hot Lab Concept for Advanced D and D Application - 19175

Hot Labs are used in the nuclear industry for various purposes: maintenance of nuclear reactor, sampling and testing of fuel, inspection activities and decommissioning. Despite their vast use, their current designs and operations do not meet entirely today's needs and requirements of the operations nor tomorrow's. This paper will give an overview of the research and investigations performed around Hot Cells design and concept in order to integrate new operability modes and functions. The overall idea is to bring modularity, flexibility and adaptability to the Hot Lab nuclear industry. Taking the key principles of Model Based System Engineering, an interoperable data model, the most advanced digital technologies (Building Information Modelling - BIM, Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence), and looking at all the life-cycle of such a facility, a concept design of a new type of Hot Lab has been developed. Four mains aspects are implemented during this study: Implement the principles of the Industry 4.0; use modular and flexible solutions; explore the concept of in service maintenance and predictive maintenance; optimise the decommissioning and dismantling process by taking into account the entire life-cycle of the facility. The design was developed as a case study taking several assumptions to adapt to any project. The design developed demonstrates that modularity and flexibility can be brought in without compromising the core safety functions of such a facility. This Hot Lab concept brings the current Hot Lab to the next level as the design has been adapted to meet the current operational needs, implement novel ideas and consider its entire life-cycle. This paper will demonstrate how decommissioning and dismantling operations can become more efficient and safer with such a concept. In addition, the Model Based System Engineering approach used from the beginning of the design phase allows to have an optimum architecture during its entire lifetime. It also allowed to flag new topics to be further developed for the benefit of the nuclear industry as a whole. A first example would be the development of the Control System using digital tools and artificial intelligence to run remotely controlled equipment inside the Hot Lab. Assystem is an international engineering group. As a key participant in the nuclear industry for over 50 years, the Group supports its clients in managing their capital expenditure throughout their asset life-cycles. Assystem can offer support in project management, design, digital engineering, industrial control systems, security and safety and industrial digitalisation. Assystem's Imagine program is an internal program intending to serve as an incubator for the development of innovations. The Innovative Hot Lab project integrates one of the four innovation projects Assystem choose to develop and invest in. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Support for Reactor Operators in Case of Cyber-Security Threats (NEUP Final Report)

Increasing use of digital technology in nuclear power plants (NPPs) poses cyber-security as a crucial threat to public safety and to continuous energy production. Cyber-security risks are comprised of complex known and unknown interactions between various entities, system vulnerabilities, network protocols, human users and malicious attacks. There is little understanding or research geared towards plant operators’ response under cyber-security threats and operational procedures to cope with such threats. This is particularly critical when a cyber-security event masquerades as a safety incident or an evolving accident. Instead of leading operators to the remediation of the accident, the masked cyber event may lead them to circumvent the safety mechanisms of the plant. Given these challenges, the objective of this project is to develop a tool to characterize abnormal NPP events as “cyber” or “safety” incidents, and to further develop this tool as a real-time operator aid to assist in response to the incident. This NEUP Final Report summarizes the research efforts towards the above goals and the results in the following three aspects. First, a methodology for classifying abnormal NPP events as cyber-attacks or safety incidents was developed. This provides the basis for responding to potential cyber-attacks. In this methodology, the causal relationships between various variables (i.e., physical variables, network variables, and control variables) for a nuclear system under consideration are modeled using dynamic Bayesian networks. Based on observations of certain variables (i.e., the evidence), inference is performed to identify the state of hidden variables, which helps indicate the occurrence of cyber-attacks or safety incidents. The proposed methodology was applied to the full scope NPP simulator system at The Ohio State University as a case study. The result shows that the proposed methodology is capable of distinguishing between cyber-attacks and safety incidents. Second, a game-theoretic approach for responding to cyber-attacks on nuclear power plants was developed. This is the second major goal of the project, and the method is used to recommend optimal responses to reactor operators in the case of cyber-attacks. We consider two cases in this research. In the first case, the interaction between the defender (i.e., the reactor operator) and the attacker is modeled as a two-player, nonzero-sum, Markov game with an infinite time horizon. In the second case, we consider a semi-Markov game between the defender and the attacker within a finite time horizon. The model in the second case enables us to consider the time sensitive response of the defender. In each case, the method for deriving the Nash equilibrium is developed. The Nash Equilibrium of the game provides the valid prediction of both players’ actions because no single player can benefit from unilaterally deviating from the equilibrium policy if the other player adheres to his/hers, hence it provides the best response of the defender to cyber-attacks. The proposed method in each case is demonstrated through a simplified benchmark digital feedwater control system. Third, a prototype display is developed to integrate the above information. The prototype display depicts the communication information to the operator and incorporates the cyber-security tool developed by the team into the interface. It consists of the regular display in current control rooms, as well as a panel used to indicate the occurrence of cyber-attacks or safety events and a panel used to guide the operator’s response to detected cyber-attacks.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Final Technical Report on Quantifying Dependability Attributes of Software Based Safety Critical Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

With the current transition from analog to digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants, the number and variety of software-based systems have significantly increased. The sophisticated nature and increasing complexity of software raises trust in these systems as a significant challenge. The trust placed in a software system is typically termed software dependability. Software dependability analysis faces uncommon challenges since software systems’ characteristics differ from those of hardware systems. The lack of systematic science-based methods for quantifying the dependability attributes in software-based instrumentation as well as control systems in safety critical applications has proved itself to be a significant inhibitor to the expanded use of modern digital technology in the nuclear industry. Dependability refers to the ability of a system to deliver a service that can be trusted. Dependability is commonly considered as a general concept that encompasses different attributes, e.g., reliability, safety, security, availability and maintainability. Dependability research has progressed significantly over the last few decades. For example, various assessment models and/or design approaches have been proposed for software reliability, software availability and software maintainability. Advances have also been made to integrate multiple dependability attributes, e.g., integrating security with other dependability attributes, measuring availability and maintainability, modeling reliability and availability, quantifying reliability and security, exploring the dependencies between security and safety and developing integrated analysis models. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the dependencies between various dependability attributes as a whole and of how such dependencies are formed. To address the need for quantification and give a more objective basis to the review process -- therefore reducing regulatory uncertainty -- measures and methods are needed to assess dependability attributes early on, as well as throughout the life-cycle process of software development. In this research, extensive expert opinion elicitation is used to identify the measures and methods for assessing software dependability. Semi-structured questionnaires were designed to elicit expert knowledge. A new notation system, Causal Mechanism Graphing, was developed to extract and represent such knowledge. The Causal Mechanism Graphs were merged, thus, obtaining the consensus knowledge shared by the domain experts. In this report, we focus on how software contributes to dependability. However, software dependability is not discussed separately from the context of systems or socio-technical systems. Specifically, this report focuses on software dependability, reliability, safety, security, availability, and maintainability. Our research was conducted in the sequence of stages found below. Each stage is further examined in its corresponding chapter. Stage 1 (Chapter 2): Elicitation of causal maps describing the dependencies between dependability attributes. These causal maps were constructed using expert opinion elicitation. This chapter describes the expert opinion elicitation process, the questionnaire design, the causal map construction method and the causal maps obtained. Stage 2 (Chapter 3): Elicitation of the causal map describing the occurrence of the event of interest for each dependability attribute. The causal mechanisms for the “event of interest” were extracted for each of the software dependability attributes. The “event of interest” for a dependability attribute is generally considered to be the “attribute failure”, e.g. security failure. The extraction was based on the analysis of expert elicitation results obtained in Stage 1. Stage 3 (Chapter 4): Identification of relevant measurements. Measures for the “events of interest” and their causal mechanisms were obtained from expert opinion elicitation for each of the software dependability attributes. The measures extracted are presented in this chapter. Stage 4 (Chapter 5): Assessment of the coverage of the causal maps via measures. Coverage was assessed to determine whether the measures obtained were sufficient to quantify software dependability, and what measures are further required. Stage 5 (Chapter 6): Identification of “missing” measures and measurement approaches for concepts not covered. New measures, for concepts that had not been covered sufficiently as determined in Stage 4, were identified using supplementary expert opinion elicitation as well as literature reviews. Stage 6 (Chapter 7): Building of a detailed quantification model based on the causal maps and measurements obtained. Ability to derive such a quantification model shows that the causal models and measurements derived from the previous stages (Stage 1 to Stage 5) can form the technical basis for developing dependability quantification models. Scope restrictions have led us to prioritize this demonstration effort. The demonstration was focused on a critical system, i.e. the reactor protection system. For this system, a ranking of the software dependability attributes by nuclear stakeholders was developed. As expected for this application, the stakeholder ranking identified safety as the most critical attribute to be quantified. A safety quantification model limited to the requirements phase of development was built. Two case studies were conducted for verification. A preliminary control gate for software safety for the requirements stage was proposed and applied to the first case study. The control gate allows a cost effective selection of the duration of the requirements phase.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Linking energy-cyber-physical systems with occupancy prediction and interpretation through WiFi probe-based ensemble classification

With the rapid advances in sensing and digital technologies, cyber-physical systems are regarded as the most viable platforms for improving building design and management. Researchers investigated the possibility of integrating energy management systems with cyber-physical systems to form energy-cyber-physical systems in order to promote building energy management. However, minimizing energy consumption while fulfilling building functions for energy-cyber-physical systems is challenging due to the dynamics of building occupants. As occupant behavior is a major source of uncertainty for energy management, ignoring it often results in both energy waste caused by overheating and overcooling as well as discomfort due to insufficient thermal and ventilation services. To mitigate such uncertainties, this study proposes an occupancy-linked energy-cyber-physical system that incorporates WiFi probe-based occupancy detection. The proposed framework utilizes ensemble classification algorithms to extract three forms of occupancy information. It creates a data interface to link energy management systems and cyber-physical systems and allows for automated occupancy detection and interpretation by assembling multiple weak classifiers for WiFi signals. A validation experiment in a large office room was conducted to examine the performance of the proposed occupancy-linked energy-cyber-physical systems. The experiment and simulation results suggest that, with a proper classifier and occupancy data type, the proposed model can potentially save about 26.4% of energy consumption in cooling and ventilation demands.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

Robust resistive memory devices using solution-processable metal-coordinated azo aromatics

Non-volatile memories will play a decisive role in the next generation of digital technology. Flash memories are currently the key player in the field, yet they fail to meet the commercial demands of scalability and endurance. Resistive memory devices, and in particular memories based on low-cost, solution-processable and chemically tunable organic materials, are promising alternatives explored by the industry. However, to date, they have been lacking the performance and mechanistic understanding required for commercial translation. Here we report a resistive memory device based on a spin-coated active layer of a transition-metal complex, which shows high reproducibility (~350 devices), fast switching (≤30 ns), excellent endurance (~10 12 cycles), stability (>10 6 s) and scalability (down to ~60 nm 2 ). In situ Raman and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy alongside spectroelectrochemistry and quantum chemical calculations demonstrate that the redox state of the ligands determines the switching states of the device whereas the counterions control the hysteresis. This insight may accelerate the technological deployment of organic resistive memories.

Goswami, Sreetosh↗
DOE OSTI2016

Binary particle swarm optimisation‐based optimal substation coverage algorithm for phasor measurement unit installations in practical systems

Phasor measurement units (PMUs) play an important role in the wide‐area monitoring and protection of modern power systems. Historically, their deployment was limited by the prohibitive cost of the device itself. Therefore, the objective of the conventional optimal PMU placement problem was to find minimum number of devices, which when carefully placed throughout the network, maximised observability subject to different constraints. Due to improvements in relay technology, digital relays can now serve as both relays and PMUs. Under such circumstances, the substation installations consume the largest portion of the deployment cost, and not the devices themselves. Thus, for minimising cost of synchrophasor deployment, number of substation installations must be minimised. This study uses binary particle swarm optimisation to minimise number of substations in which installations must be performed for making all voltage levels observable, while being subject to various practical constraints. Standard IEEE systems have been used to explain the technique. Finally, a large‐scale network of Dominion Virginia Power is used as the test bed for implementation.

Mishra, Chetan↗
DOE OSTI2014

Digital optical module design for PINGU

The Precision IceCube Next Generation Upgrade (PINGU) will require optical sensors with similar performance as the digital optical modules (DOMs) of IceCube, but implemented in a higher-density array. A new design for the PINGU DOM (PDOM) is being pursued that retains the proven mechanical elements of the IceCube DOM, yet takes advantage of recently commercialized high-speed digitizer technology. The main features of the proposed PDOM electronics are discussed, along with status and plans for development. Proposed modifications to the IceCube string architecture that will accommodate the smaller vertical PDOM spacing are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Influential Aspects of the Smart City

Using millions of sensors in everyday objects, smart cities will generate petabytes of data, and it will be delivered to multiple users via networks. Multi-disciplinary inter-operability is essential. We propose system engineering management, with multidisciplinary teams as an effective way to deliver real change. Their goal is to develop intelligent and integrated services through the use of digital technologies and open collaboration. We also caution that the process cannot be entirely planned ahead of time, it must be allowed to evolve. New technology will change the game (where does a 3-D printer fit into a smart city?). Municipal planning means central planning – not known for its sensitivity to reality. A successful smart city will include lots of feedback mechanisms for the citizenry.

collaboration↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-G-BRB-01: A Novel 3D Printed Patient-Specific Phantom for Spine SBRT Quality Assurance: Comparison of 3D Printing Techniques

Purpose: The novel 3 dimensional (3D)-printed spine quality assurance (QA) phantoms generated by two different 3D-printing technologies, digital light processing (DLP) and Polyjet, were developed and evaluated for spine stereotactic body radiation treatment (SBRT). Methods: The developed 3D-printed spine QA phantom consisted of an acrylic body and a 3D-printed spine phantom. DLP and Polyjet 3D printers using the high-density acrylic polymer were employed to produce spine-shaped phantoms based on CT images. To verify dosimetric effects, the novel phantom was made it enable to insert films between each slabs of acrylic body phantom. Also, for measuring internal dose of spine, 3D-printed spine phantom was designed as divided laterally exactly in half. Image fusion was performed to evaluate the reproducibility of our phantom, and the Hounsfield unit (HU) was measured based on each CT image. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans to deliver a fraction of a 16 Gy dose to a planning target volume (PTV) based on the two 3D-printing techniques were compared for target coverage and normal organ-sparing. Results: Image fusion demonstrated good reproducibility of the fabricated spine QA phantom. The HU values of the DLP- and Polyjet-printed spine vertebrae differed by 54.3 on average. The PTV Dmax dose for the DLP-generated phantom was about 1.488 Gy higher than for the Polyjet-generated phantom. The organs at risk received a lower dose when the DLP technique was used than when the Polyjet technique was used. Conclusion: This study confirmed that a novel 3D-printed phantom mimicking a high-density organ can be created based on CT images, and that a developed 3D-printed spine phantom could be utilized in patient-specific QA for SBRT. Despite using the same main material, DLP and Polyjet yielded different HU values. Therefore, the printing technique and materials must be carefully chosen in order to accurately produce a patient-specific QA phantom.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗