Engineering Commons^™

Automatic Exposure Control And Estimation Of Effective System Noise In Diffuse Fluorescence Tomography, Dax L. Kepshire, Hamid Dehghani, Frederic Leblond, Brian W. Pogue

Dartmouth Scholarship

A diffuse fluorescence tomography system, based upon time-correlated single photon counting, is presented with an automated algorithm to allow dynamic range variation through exposure control. This automated exposure control allows the upper and lower detection levels of fluorophore to be extended by an order of magnitude beyond the previously published performance and benefits in a slight decrease in system effective noise. The effective noise level is used as a metric to characterize the system performance, integrating both model-mismatch and calibration bias errors into a single parameter. This effective error is near 7% of the reconstructed fluorescent yield value, when imaging …

Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (Lscm): An Application For The Detection Of Morphological Alterations In Skin Structure, Shea C. Smith

Master's Theses

Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) is an optical imaging technique that provides improved resolution and sensitivity over conventional methods of optical microscopy. However, the cost of most commercial LSCM systems exceeds the financial limitations of many smaller laboratories. The design of a custom LSCM created at a fraction of the cost of a commercial model is discussed in this paper.

The increase in the incidence rate of skin cancer in the world today is alarming, as such, it is essential to provide an early, rapid and effective method for in vivo diagnostics of human skin tissue. LSCM is capable of …

The Electrical Properties Of Human Tissue For The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Melanoma Skin Cancer, Glenn Cameron Stante

Master's Theses

This thesis discusses the research, experimental methods, and data gathered for the investigation of a novel method for the diagnosis of melanoma skin cancer. First, a background about human skin tissue is presented. Then, a detailed description of melanoma along with current diagnosis techniques and treatment options are presented. In the experimental methods, the electrical properties of several types of tissue were analyzed, the purpose of which was to discover if a tissue type can be distinguished by its electrical properties alone. This would allow for the diagnosis of melanoma to be done by examining the electrical properties of the …

Is Extended Volume Of External Beam Irradiation Beneficial In Post-Esophagectomy High Risk Patients Receiving Combined Chemoradiation Therapy?, E. Yu, A. R. Dar, R. Ash, G. Videtic, P. Truong, L. Stitt, A. Tomiak, M. Vincent, R. Malthaner, I. Craig, E. Brecevic, W. Kocha, R. Inculet, M. Lefcoe

Edward Yu

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of extended volume irradiation with anastomotic coverage in high risk resected esophageal cancer patients. METHOD: A retrospective study was undertaken at LRCC from 1989-1999 for high risk resected esophageal cancer patients. Adjuvant treatments consisted of 4 cycles of chemotherapy (epirubicin/fluorouracil/cisplatin or cisplatin/fluorouracil), and local regional irradiation with or without coverage of the anastomotic site. Radiation dose ranged from 45-60Gy at 1.8-2.0 Gy/fraction given with initial anterior-posterior/posterior-anterior arrangement with either extended (with anastomotic coverage) or small (without anastomotic coverage) field followed by oblique fields for boost. RESULT: One hundred eighty-eight charts were reviewed. Seventy-two patients were …

Robot Assisted Ultrasound Imaged Guided Interstitial Lung Brachytherapy In A Porcine Model, Richard A. Malthaner, Edward Yu, Jerry J. Battista, Chris Blake, Donal Downey, Aaron Fenster

Edward Yu

We set out to see if permanent interstitial brachytherapy seeds could be safely and reproducibly inserted thoracoscopicaly with the ZEUS Robotic system and intraoperative ultrasound into in-vivo porcine lungs.

Evaluation Of Intra-And Inter-Fraction Motion In Breast Radiotherapy Using Electronic Portal Imaging Cine Loops, Chrison Lee, Edward Yu, Tomas Kron

Edward Yu

Parallel tangent breast irradiation is commonly used postbreast conservation surgery for early breast cancer patient without lymph node involvement to improve local disease control. Intra-fractional and inter-fractional variabilities are often presented in daily treatment setup. The present pilot study used Electronic Portal Imaging (EPI) to evaluate intra-and inter-fraction motion in patients undergoing simple breast tangent radiotherapy.

The Uqam Mummy – The Use Of Non-Destructive Imaging To Reconstruct An Ancient Osteobiography And To Document Modern Malfeasance, Andrew J. Nelson, Andrew D. Wade, R. Hibbert, B. Macdonald, M. Donaldson, R. Chatelain, N. Nguyen, V. Lywood, G. Gibson, M. Trumpour, S. N. Friedman, P. V. Granton, J. Morgan, David W. Holdsworth, I. A. Cunningham

Anthropology Presentations

An Egyptian mummy and her coffin dating to the 26th Dynasty were donated to the École de Beaux Arts in Montreal in 1927. This mummy has been in the collection of the Université du Québec à Montréal since 1967. Inscriptions on the elaborate coffin identify the individual as Hetep-Bastet. In 1969, the mummy was attacked by a protester, who caused extensive damage. The mummy was scanned once over a decade ago. However, computed tomography (CT) technology has advanced a great deal since that time, and some conclusions reached were somewhat suspect (e.g. that she suffered from a large dental abscess …

Statistical Hypothesis Testing For Postreconstructed And Postregistered Medical Images, Eugene Demidenko

Dartmouth Scholarship

Postreconstructed and postregistered medical images are typically treated as the raw data, implicitly assuming that those operations are error free. We question this assumption and explore how the precision of reconstruction and affine registration can be assessed by the image covariance matrix and confidence interval, called the confidence eigenimage, using a statistical model-based approach. Various hypotheses may be tested after image reconstruction and registration using classical statistical hypothesis testing vehicles: Is there a statistically significant difference between images? Does the intensity at a specific location or area of interest belong to the “normal” range? Is there a tumor? Does the …

Video-Rate Near Infrared Tomography To Image Pulsatile Absorption Properties In Thick Tissue, Zhiqiu Li, Venkataramanan Krishnaswamy, Scott C. Davis, Subhadra Srinivasan, Keith D. Paulsen, Brian W. Pogue

Dartmouth Scholarship

A high frame-rate near-infrared (NIR) tomography system was created to allow transmission imaging of thick tissues with spectral encoding for parallel source implementation. The design was created to maximize tissue penetration through up to 10 cm of tissue, allowing eventual use in human imaging. Eight temperature-controlled laser diodes (LD) are used in parallel with 1.5 nm shifts in their lasing wavelengths. Simultaneous detection is achieved with eight high-resolution, CCD-based spectrometers that were synchronized to detect the intensities and decode their source locations from the spectrum. Static and dynamic imaging is demonstrated through a 64 mm tissue-equivalent phantom, with acquisition rates …

PagetʼS Disease (Osteitis Deformans) In Archaeological Remains: A Radiographic Differential, Andrew D. Wade, Gregory J. Garvin, David W. Holdsworth

Anthropology Presentations

Paget’s disease of bone is a metabolic bone disease of unknown etiology and is the most likely disease to cause secondary bone cancer; a prevalence that increases with age[1]. With the increasing age of modern populations, the importance of better understanding this disease will likewise increase. While in vivo tests for the disease cannot be performed in skeletal samples, radiographic views of archaeological remains can provide insight into the origins and natural history of the disease.

Investigation Of Magnetic Resonance Imaging And Spectroscopy For The Detection Of Breast Cancer, Robert Thomas Etnire

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast offers an alternative to screening mammography which may benefit those women at high risk for breast cancer, women under the age of 40, and those with dense breast tissue. One concern with MRI is the number of high false positives. Coupling MRI with magnetic resonance spectroscopy(MRS) may lower the number of false positives, and thus improve the diagnostic capabilities of MRI for the clinician. MRS for breast imaging focuses on the total choline containing compounds in the spectra in the suspected breast lesion to analyze areas of concern. The results of the study …

Analysis Of The Performance Of Iodinated Contrast X-Ray Attenuator Under Physiologically Relevant Conditions, Peter Frey

Honors Capstone Projects - All

X-ray is a radiological tool utilized in healthcare institutions around the world to diagnose abnormalities such as bone fractures or the presence of foreign material within patients. The ability for healthcare providers to properly diagnose a problem is improved with advancements in the quality of radiological images. One way to improve image quality is to optimize the contrast range within a single image created by different attenuating characteristics in various types of tissue. In this study, I used a proof-of-concept prototype model of an x-ray attenuation system and an experimental protocol to examine its capacity to equalize x-ray beam signal …

A Fully Automated Non-External Marker 4d-Ct Sorting Algorithm Using A Serial Cine Scanning Protocol, Greg Carnes, Stewart Gaede, Edward Yu, Jake Van Dyk, Jerry Battista, Ting-Yim Lee

Edward Yu

Current 4D-CT methods require external marker data to retrospectively sort image data and generate CT volumes. In this work we develop an automated 4D-CT sorting algorithm that performs without the aid of data collected from an external respiratory surrogate. The sorting algorithm requires an overlapping cine scan protocol. The overlapping protocol provides a spatial link between couch positions. Beginning with a starting scan position, images from the adjacent scan position (which spatial match the starting scan position) are selected by maximizing the normalized cross correlation (NCC) of the images at the overlapping slice position. The process was continued by 'daisy …

In Vitro Ovarian Tumor Growth And Treatment Response Dynamics Visualized With Time-Lapse Oct Imaging, Conor L. Evans, Imran Rizvi, Tayyaba Hasan, Johannes F. De Boer

Dartmouth Scholarship

In vitro three-dimensional models for metastatic ovarian cancer have been useful for recapitulating the human disease. These spheroidal tumor cultures, however, can grow in excess of 1 mm in diameter, which are difficult to visualize without suitable imaging technology.Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an ideal live imaging method for non-perturbatively visualizing these complex systems. OCT enabled detailed observations of the model at both nodular and cellular levels, revealing growth dynamics not previously observed. The development of a time-lapse OCT system, capable of automated, multidimensional acquisition, further provided insights into the growth and chemotherapeutic response of ovarian cancer.

Periodic And Dynamic 3-D Gold Nanoparticle− Dna Network Structures For Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy-Based Quantification, Kyuwan Lee

Kyuwan Lee

The enhancement factor of gold nanoparticles linked by DNA in a three-dimensional (3-D) network structure was evaluated as 1.12 × 107 and shown to be greater than a two-dimensional (2-D) array by a factor of 10, possibly due to the dimensional expansion of resonance and periodicity of the so formed structures. Uniform and higher level of enhancement was possible from these DNA linked gold nanoparticle networks because of the matching of the resonant condition and the excitation wavelength (785 nm) to enable dynamic quantification of analytes by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The structure was first validated by obtaining a SERS …

The Rom / Uwo Mummy Project: A Microcosm Of Progress In Mummy Research, Andrew J. Nelson, R. Chhem, I. A. Cunningham, S. N. Friedman, G. Garvin, G. Gibson, P. V. Granton, David W. Holdsworth, S. Holowka, F. Longstaffe, V. Lywood, N. Nguyen, R. Shaw, M. Trumpour, Andrew D. Wade, C. D. White

Anthropology Presentations

The beginnings of the Royal Ontario Museum can be traced back to the excavations and collections of Charles Trick Currelly, a staff member of the Egyptian Exploration Fund in the early 1900s. Currelly excavated with Sir Flinders Petrie at Abydos and with Edouard Naville at Deir el Bahari. With the assistance of Robert Mond and others, Currelly amassed a rich and diverse collection that became the basis for the ROM, which opened its doors in 1914. Part of that collection included several Egyptian mummies (Currelly 1971) .

The Egyptologicalholdings at the ROM include eight mummies: one dating to the Predynastic …

The Use Of Ct Density Changes At Internal Tissue Interfaces To Correlate Internal Organ Motion With An External Surrogate, Stewart Gaede, Gregory Carnes, Edward Yu, Jake Van Dyk, Jerry Battista, Ting-Yim Lee

Edward Yu

The purpose of this paper is to describe a non-invasive method to monitor the motion of internal organs affected by respiration without using external markers or spirometry, to test the correlation with external markers, and to calculate any time shift between the datasets. Ten lung cancer patients were CT scanned with a GE LightSpeed Plus 4-Slice CT scanner operating in a ciné mode. We retrospectively reconstructed the raw CT data to obtain consecutive 0.5 s reconstructions at 0.1 s intervals to increase image sampling. We defined regions of interest containing tissue interfaces, including tumour/lung interfaces that move due to breathing …

A Computational Model Of Breast Ducts, Jordan Greenlee

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Ductal Carcinoma represents almost 75% of breast cancer. In this specific type of cancer. malignant cells in the breast ducts invade the surrounding healthy tissue. Almost all researchers who are investigating microwave modality in the area of breast cancer detection employ oversimplified models of the internal structure of the breast. Use of engineered or biologically inaccurate models can render inaccurate results. Therefore. a mathematical biological model was implemented in this work aiming to bridge the gap between physiologists and engineers. The result show that the proposed breast duct model has the capability of modeling the breast ducts of different kinds …

Automatic Diagnosis For Prostate Cancer Using Run-Length Matrix Method, Xiaoyan Sun, Shao-Hui Chuang, Jiang Li, Frederic Mckenzie, Nico Karssemeijer (Ed.), Maryellen L. Giger (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in US¹. Quantitative assessment of prostate histology provides potential automatic classification of prostate lesions and prediction of response to therapy. Traditionally, prostate cancer diagnosis is made by the analysis of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and histopathological images of biopsy samples under microscopes. In this application, we utilize a texture analysis method based on the run-length matrix for identifying tissue abnormalities in prostate histology. A tissue sample was collected from a radical prostatectomy, H&E fixed, and assessed by a pathologist …

Optimizing Computer-Aided Colonic Polyp Detection For Ct Colonography By Evolving The Pareto Front, Jiang Li, Adam Huang, Jack Tao, Jiamin Liu, Robert L. Van Uitert, Nicholas Petrick, Ronald Summers

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A multiobjective genetic algorithm is designed to optimize a computer-aided detection (CAD) system for identifying colonic polyps. Colonic polyps appear as elliptical protrusions on the inner surface of the colon. Curvature-based features for colonic polyp detection have proved to be successful in several CT colonography (CTC) CAD systems. Our CTC CAD program uses a sequential classifier to form initial polyp detections on the colon surface. The classifier utilizes a set of thresholds on curvature-based features to cluster suspicious colon surface regions into polyp candidates. The thresholds were previously chosen experimentally by using feature histograms. The chosen thresholds were effective for …

Parameter Optimization For Image Denoising Based On Block Matching And 3d Collaborative Filtering, Ramu Pedada, Emin Kugu, Jiang Li, Zhanfeng Yue, Yuzhong Shen, Josien P.W. Pluim (Ed.), Benoit M. Dawant (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Clinical MRI images are generally corrupted by random noise during acquisition with blurred subtle structure features. Many denoising methods have been proposed to remove noise from corrupted images at the expense of distorted structure features. Therefore, there is always compromise between removing noise and preserving structure information for denoising methods. For a specific denoising method, it is crucial to tune it so that the best tradeoff can be obtained. In this paper, we define several cost functions to assess the quality of noise removal and that of structure information preserved in the denoised image. Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm 2 (SPEA2) …