Geometry Calibration Research Articles

Calibration of a Coil Array Geometry Using an X-Ray Computed Tomography

Sensor layout of biomagnetic measurement systems is measured using a multiple coil array that generates a magnetic signal. However, the results of the sensor array measurement included the error of the coil array because the coil array was not calibrated. In this paper, we proposed a calibration method to obtain the effective geometry and uncertainty of the coil array. The calibration was performed based on the X-ray CT measurements and numerical analysis of the position and shape of the coils. The differences between the designed and calibrated coil array geometries were 0.6 mm, 0.7°, and 0.3 mm with respect to the center position, orientation of the normal vector, and radius of the coils, respectively. The uncertainty of the calibration was 0.3 mm and 1.70 in terms of the dimension and orientation, respectively. We measured the sensor array layout of a magnetoencephalography (MEG) system using a calibrated coil array geometry. The source localization accuracy of the MEG system was improved compared with that of the sensor array layout obtained using the designed coil array geometry. We revealed the necessity of calibrating the coil array, regardless of the precision of the fabrication.

Monitoring drought response and chlorophyll content in Quercus by consumer-grade, near-infrared (NIR) camera: a comparison with reflectance spectroscopy

A user-friendly and affordable broad-band digital Near Infrared (NIR) camera (Canon PowerShot S110 NIR) was compared with a narrow-band reflectance spectrometer (USB2000, Ocean Optics) at leaf scale for monitoring changes in response to drought of three ecologically contrasting Quercus species (Q. robur, Q. pubescens, and Q. ilex). We aimed to (a) compare vegetation indices (VIs; that is: NDVI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; GNDVI, Green NDVI and NIRv, near-infrared reflectance of vegetation) retrieved by NIR-camera and spectrometer in order to test the reliability of a simple, low-cost, and rapid setup for widespread field applications; (b) to assess if NIR-camera VIs might be used to quantify water stress in oak seedlings; and (c) to track changes in leaf chlorophyll content. The study was carried out during a water stress test on 1-year-old seedlings in a greenhouse. The camera detected plant status in response to drought with results highly comparable to the visible/NIR (VIS/NIR) spectrometer (by calibration and standard geometry). Consistency between VIs and morpho-physiological traits was higher in Q. robur, the most drought-sensitive among the three species. Chlorophyll content was estimated with a high goodness-of-fit by VIs or reflectance bands in the visible range. Overall, NDVI performed better than GNDVI and NIRv, and VIs performed better than single bands. Looking forward, NIR-camera VIs are adequate for the early monitoring of drought stress in oak seedlings (or small trees) in the post-planting phase or in nursery settings, thus offering a new, reliable alternative for when costs are crucial, such as in the context of restoration programs.

Process‐Based Climate Model Development Harnessing Machine Learning: III. The Representation of Cumulus Geometry and Their 3D Radiative Effects

AbstractProcess‐scale development, evaluation, and calibration of physically based parameterizations of clouds and radiation are powerful levers for improving weather and climate models. In a series of papers, we propose a strategy for process‐based calibration of climate models that uses machine learning techniques. It relies on systematic comparisons of single‐column versions of climate models with explicit simulations of boundary‐layer dynamics and clouds (Large‐Eddy Simulations [LES]). This paper focuses on the calibration of cloud geometry parameters (vertical overlap, horizontal heterogeneity, and cloud size) that appear in the parameterization of radiation. The solar component of a radiative transfer (RT) scheme that includes a parameterization for 3D radiative effects of clouds (SPARTACUS) is run in offline single‐column mode on an ensemble of input cloud profiles synthesized from LES outputs. The space of cloud geometry parameter values is efficiently explored by sampling a large number of parameter sets (configurations) from which radiative metrics are computed using fast surrogate models that emulate the SPARTACUS solver. The sampled configurations are evaluated by comparing these radiative metrics to reference values provided by a 3D RT Monte Carlo model. The best calibrated configurations yield better predictions of TOA and surface fluxes than the one that uses parameter values computed from the 3D cloud fields: The root‐mean‐square errors averaged over cumulus cloud fields and solar angles are reduced from ∼10 Wm−2 with LES‐derived parameters to ∼5 Wm−2 with adjusted parameters. However, the calibration of cloud geometry fails to reduce the errors on absorption, which remain around 2–4 Wm−2.

Geometry Calibration of a Modular Stereo Cone-Beam X-ray CT System.

Compared to single source systems, stereo X-ray CT systems allow acquiring projection data within a reduced amount of time, for an extended field-of-view, or for dual X-ray energies. To exploit the benefit of a dual X-ray system, its acquisition geometry needs to be calibrated. Unfortunately, in modular stereo X-ray CT setups, geometry misalignment occurs each time the setup is changed, which calls for an efficient calibration procedure. Although many studies have been dealing with geometry calibration of an X-ray CT system, little research targets the calibration of a dual cone-beam X-ray CT system. In this work, we present a phantom-based calibration procedure to accurately estimate the geometry of a stereo cone-beam X-ray CT system. With simulated as well as real experiments, it is shown that the calibration procedure can be used to accurately estimate the geometry of a modular stereo X-ray CT system thereby reducing the misalignment artifacts in the reconstruction volumes.

Fluoroscopic Guidance of a Surgical Robot: Pre-clinical Evaluation in Pelvic Guidewire Placement.

A method and prototype for a fluoroscopically-guided surgical robot is reported for assisting pelvic fracture fixation. The approach extends the compatibility of existing guidance methods with C-arms that are in mainstream use (without prior geometric calibration) using an online calibration of the C-arm geometry automated via registration to patient anatomy. We report the first preclinical studies of this method in cadaver for evaluation of geometric accuracy. The robot is placed over the patient within the imaging field-of-view and radiographs are acquired as the robot rotates an attached instrument. The radiographs are then used to perform an online geometric calibration via 3D-2D image registration, which solves for the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the C-arm imaging system with respect to the patient. The solved projective geometry is then be used to register the robot to the patient and drive the robot to planned trajectories. This method is applied to a robotic system consisting of a drill guide instrument for guidewire placement and evaluated in experiments using a cadaver specimen. Robotic drill guide alignment to trajectories defined in the cadaver pelvis were accurate within 2 mm and 1° (on average) using the calibration-free approach. Conformance of trajectories within bone corridors was confirmed in cadaver by extrapolating the aligned drill guide trajectory into the cadaver pelvis. This study demonstrates the accuracy of image-guided robotic positioning without prior calibration of the C-arm gantry, facilitating the use of surgical robots with simpler imaging devices that cannot establish or maintain an offline calibration. Future work includes testing of the system in a clinical setting with trained orthopaedic surgeons and residents.

Geometry Calibration for Acoustic Transceiver Networks Based on Network Newton Distributed Optimization

Geometry calibration for distributed acoustic sensor networks is becoming increasing popular in the signal processing community. In this paper, a distributed geometry calibration method based on network Newton distributed optimization is proposed for the acoustic transceiver networks where each node consists of a microphone array and a loudspeaker. After collecting the direction-of-arrival and time-difference-of-arrival measurements, a two-stage centralized cost function is formulated to estimate the geometrical configuration of networks, and the corresponding identifiability conditions are discussed. Next, to achieve the distributed calibration, a distributed cost function is established by splitting the centralized cost function into multiple local cost functions. Finally, the distributed geometry calibration is carried out by using network Newton distributed optimization. The proposed method can effectively estimate the geometry structure of acoustic transceiver networks in noisy and reverberant environments. Compared with the existing approaches, it implements the calibration process in a distributed manner, which requires only the local communication among nodes and does not need an external central processor. Experimental results show the validity of the proposed method.

Projection-angle-dependent distortion correction in high-speed image-intensifier-based x-ray computed tomography

Geometric distortion is inevitable in facilities using x-ray image intensifiers. When the induced distortion pattern varies over time, each recorded frame should be corrected accordingly, which is the case in conventional C-arm imaging, for example. This demonstrates the need for reliable and easy-to-use, projection-angle-dependent correction methods. In the present work, we demonstrate such a dynamic approach, based on digital image correlation (DIC). We validate the method in a set-up for high-speed x-ray tomography, where the variable distortion is induced by an inhomogeneous distribution of ferromagnetic components in the sample rotation stage. By comparing the ideal positions of metal beads in a rectilinear pattern and their positions in the corrected radiographs of that pattern, we deduced the minimum number of frames required to estimate the varying distortion behavior during a full revolution of the stage. Next, this method was validated in a geometry calibration algorithm for a tomographic set-up, as well as in a tomographic reconstruction. Before the application of any distortion correction, the recorded images suffer from, on average, a mean and maximum distortion of 11.12 pixels (1.56 mm) and 42.79 pixels (6.10 mm), respectively. From our experiments, we conclude that three projections, sampled with a 120° interval, are sufficient to correct any frame recorded under an intermediate angle, with mean and maximum residual errors respectively below 0.48 pixels (0.068 mm) and 1.68 pixels (0.240 mm) while using a 14” image intensifier covering a 292 mm 292 mm field of view. These results imply a decrease of the mean and maximum distortion errors of at least 96%, regardless of the projection angle. Next, the results showed improved accuracy in the system’s geometry calibration, which resulted in a reduced blurring of edges and better contrast, as well as shape preservation in the tomographic reconstruction. This demonstrates that the new method is accurate and reliable and, due to the common availability of DIC software, it is very accessible and easy to use.

Passive Geometry Calibration for Microphone Arrays Based on Distributed Damped Newton Optimization

Geometry calibration is an inherent challenge in distributed acoustic sensor networks. To mitigate this problem, a passive geometry calibration approach based on distributed damped Newton optimization is proposed. Specifically, a geometric cost function incorporating direction of arrivals (DoAs) and time difference of arrivals (TDoAs) is first formulated, and then its identifiability conditions are given. Next, to achieve a distributed geometry calibration, the cost function is split into multiple local cost functions that are assigned to every node. After that, a distributed damped Newton optimization is presented to retrieve the geometry of microphone nodes and synchronize the internal delay between each two neighboring nodes. Finally, computational complexity and transmission bandwidth requirements are further analyzed. Compared with the existing approaches, the proposed method estimates the geometry structure of microphone networks in a distributed manner. Moreover, it requires a small number of acoustic sources. Experimental results show the validity of the proposed method.

Dose rate determination for preclinical total body irradiation

The accuracy of delivered radiation dose and the reproducibility of employed radiotherapy methods are key factors for preclinical radiobiology applications and research studies. In this work, ionization chamber (IC) measurements and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were used to accurately determine the dose rate for total body irradiation (TBI), a classic radiobiologic and immunologic experimental method. Several phantom configurations, including large solid water slab, small water box and rodentomorphic mouse and rat phantoms were simulated and measured for TBI setup utilizing a preclinical irradiator XRad320. The irradiator calibration and the phantom measurements were performed using an ADCL calibrated IC N31010 following the AAPM TG-61 protocol. The MC simulations were carried out using Geant4/GATE to compute absorbed dose distributions for all phantom configurations. All simulated and measured geometries had favorable agreement. On average, the relative dose rate difference was 2.3%. However, the study indicated large dose rate deviations, if calibration conditions are assumed for a given experimental setup as commonly done for a quick determination of irradiation times utilizing lookup tables and hand calculations. In a TBI setting, the reference calibration geometry at an extended source-to-surface distance and a large reference field size is likely to overestimate true photon scatter. Consequently, the measured and hand calculated dose rates, for TBI geometries in this study, had large discrepancies: 16% for a large solid water slab, 27% for a small water box, and 31%, 36%, and 30% for mouse phantom, rat phantom, and mouse phantom in a pie cage, respectively. Small changes in TBI experimental setup could result in large dose rate variations. MC simulations and the corresponding measurements specific to a designed experimental setup are vital for accurate preclinical dosimetry and reproducibility of radiobiological findings. This study supports the well-recognized need for physics consultation for all radiobiological investigations.

Review on Recent Developments in Collimators of Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography Imaging

In Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), collimator selection, optimization, and also geometric calibration have a major impact on the acquired image quality and also on an accurate detectability and diagnosis. The collimator optimization phenomena consider some parameters such as field of view, resolution, sensitivity, resolution at depth, septal thickness and penetration for a specific application task. While the parallel hole collimator is usually used in SPECT and planar imaging but due to the limited solid angle covered by the collimator, the system sensitivity and resolution were highly reduced. Meanwhile, other types of collimators such as pin-hole, multi-pin-hole, slant and slit-slat collimators were introduced with a trade-off between sensitivity and resolution. This article reviews improvements on collimators also by considering the geometry and geometric calibration methods for improving the image quality in single photon emission computed tomography.

Computational study on atom-economic alkyne hydrotelluration reaction using benchmarked ECP for Te

Geometry and energy calibration studies are done for arriving at a proper ECP for tellurium containing compounds. Among the various d-function included ECPs cc-pwCVTZ-PP and def2-TZVP give more reliable results. Non-catalytic and base/radical initiated hydrotelluration reactions are computationally studied using the calibrated def2-TZVP, with a special focus on the regio-and stereoselective formation of vinyl tellurides. The explored gas phase reaction mechanism indicates the addition of tellurol to unsaturated carbon-carbon triple bond via a concerted transition structure. Regioselectivity has been noticeably realized in presence of both base and radical mediated hydrotelluration leading to Markovnikov and anti-Markovnikov product respectively.

Investigation of the impact of various robot properties on a twin Robot-CT system

ABSTRACT Robot-CT is drawing great attention for its potential to support highly flexible scan trajectories and various scan modes with a single system. However, the quality of CT reconstruction largely depends on accurate knowledge of the scan geometry, i.e. position and orientation of the source and the detector. This imposes major challenges on current serial industrial robots. In order to realistically assess the impact of various robot characteristics on the Robot-CT reconstruction quality and to facilitate the development of a dedicated calibration method, this paper elaborates on a set of simulations based on the performance evaluation of an ABB industrial robot. Simulation results reveal that: (a) synchronous error motions of the twin robots can partially compensate for the robot errors; (b) offline calibration is a possible way to implement high accuracy Robot-CT due to the excellent repeatability of current industrial robots; (c) both robot positioning and orientation errors need to be compensated for to get a high quality reconstruction; (d) compensating for only the relative error cannot improve the final reconstruction quality: absolute positioning and orientation errors need to be measured and compensated for. External sensors or radiograph based absolute geometry calibration are needed to improve the reconstruction quality.

A low-cost geometry calibration procedure for a modular cone-beam X-ray CT system

ABSTRACT Accurate knowledge of the acquisition geometry of a CT scanning system is key for high quality tomographic imaging. Unfortunately, in modular X-ray CT setups, geometry misalignment occurs each time the setup is changed, which calls for an efficient calibration procedure to correct for geometric inaccuracies. Although many studies have been dealing with the calibration of X-ray CT systems, these are often specifically designed for one setup and/or expensive. In this work, we explore the possibilities of a low-cost, easy-to-build, and modular phantom, constructed from LEGO bricks, which serves as a structure to hold small metal beads, for geometric calibration of a tomographic X-ray system. By estimating the bead coordinates using deep learning, and minimizing center-to-center distances of the metal beads between measured and reference projection data, geometry parameters are derived. With simulated as well as real experiments, it is shown that the LEGO phantom can be used to accurately estimate the geometry of a modular X-ray CT system.

Refined Calibration Model for Improving the Orientation Precision of Electron Backscatter Diffraction Maps.

For the precise determination of orientations in polycrystalline materials, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) requires a consistent calibration of the diffraction geometry in the scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the present paper, the variation of the projection center for the Kikuchi diffraction patterns which are measured by EBSD is calibrated using a projective transformation model for the SEM beam scan positions on the sample. Based on a full pattern matching approach between simulated and experimental Kikuchi patterns, individual projection center estimates are determined on a subgrid of the EBSD map, from which least-square fits to affine and projective transformations can be obtained. Reference measurements on single-crystalline silicon are used to quantify the orientation errors which result from different calibration models for the variation of the projection center.

Tetragonality of Fe-C martensite – a pattern matching electron backscatter diffraction analysis compared to X-ray diffraction

Measurements of the local tetragonality in Fe-C martensite at microstructural length-scale through pattern matching of electron backscatter diffraction patterns (EBSPs) and careful calibration of detector geometry are presented. It is found that the local tetragonality varies within the complex microstructure by several per cent at largest and that the scatter in the axial ratio is increased at higher nominal carbon content. At some analysis points the local crystal structure can be regarded as lower symmetry than simple body centred tetragonal. A linear relation between the nominal carbon content and averaged local tetragonality measured by EBSD is also obtained, although the averaged axial ratio is slightly below that obtained from more classical X-ray diffraction measurements.

On the use of EBT3 film for relative dosimetry of kilovoltage X ray beams

EBT3 films were evaluated for relative dosimetry in water, in the energy range of therapeutic kV X ray beams. A film batch was calibrated in air for all nine beam qualities of a clinical unit (XStrahl 200). Monte Carlo (MC) simulations using MCNP v.6 facilitated the calculation of the film absorbed dose (f), and beam quality (kbq) energy dependences in air. Results were found in agreement with corresponding data in the literature. Film samples from the same batch were irradiated in water along the central beam axis for each beam quality. Experimental percentage depth dose (PDD) results obtained using calibration data in air showed quality and depth dependent differences from corresponding MC simulations. These differences increased beyond film dosimetry uncertainty (<3.3%), reaching up to 8% at increased depth. The observed differences reduced only slightly when spectral variation as a function of measurement point was accounted for, using photon effective energy. PDD measurements and corresponding MC results facilitated the determination of f and kbq in water. Results showed that the origin of the observed differences between experimental and MC PDD results is the difference between film response in air and water, as a result of radiation field perturbation from the film oriented along the central beam axis. This implies a directional dependence of film response which necessitates that the angular distribution of photons impinging on the film is the same in the calibration and measurement geometries.

Simulation and validation of residual deformations in additive manufacturing of metal parts

Selective laser melting (SLM) is gaining increasing relevance in industry. Residual deformations and internal stresses caused by the repeated layerwise melting of the metal powder and transient cooling of the solidified layers still presents a significant challenge to the profitability and quality of the process. Excessive distortions or cracking may lead to expensive rejects. In practice, critical additively manufactured parts are either iteratively pre-compensated or redesigned based on production experience. To satisfy the need for improved understanding of this complex manufacturing process, CAE software providers have recently developed solutions to simulate the SLM process. This study focuses on the evaluation of two solutions by ANSYS, i.e. ANSYS Additive Print and ANSYS Additive Suite.ANSYS Additive Print (AAP), a user-oriented software, and ANSYS Additive Suite (AAS), a software requiring advanced experience with Finite Element Methods (FEM), are investigated and validated with regard to residual deformations. For the evaluation of the two programs, calibration and validation geometries were printed by SLM in Ti–6Al–4V and residual deformations have been measured by 3D scanning. The results have been used for the calibration of isotropic and anisotropic strain scaling factors in AAP, and for sensitivity analyses on the effect of basic model parameters in AAS. The actual validation of the programs is performed on the basis of different sample geometries with varying wall thickness and deformation characteristic.While both simulation approaches, AAP and AAS, are capable of predicting the qualitative characteristics of the residual deformations sufficiently well, accurate quantitative results are difficult to obtain. AAP is more accessible and yields accurate results within the calibrated regime. Extrapolation to other geometries introduces uncertainties, however. AAS, on the other hand, features a sounder physical basis and therefore allows for a more robust extrapolation. Numerical efforts and modelling uncertainties as well as requirements for an extensive set of material parameters reduce its practicality, however. More appropriate calibration geometries, continuing extension of a more reliable material database, improved user guidelines and increased numerical efficiency are key in the future establishment of the process simulation approaches in the industrial practice.

Characterization of the efficiency of a cubic NaI detector with rectangular cavity for axially positioned sources

Scintillation NaI(Tl) crystals are typically utilized at room temperature for detection of energetic photons in high energy and nuclear physics research, non-destructive analysis of materials testing, safeguards, verification of nuclear treaty, geological exploration and therapeutic imaging. The present work provides a new geometry for the source-to-detector combination. A special order cubic detector with rectangular cavity was used. The mathematical expressions of the path-lengths traveled by the incident photon as well as the geometrical solid angle were derived. The detector efficiency was determined for an axially positioned standard point-like gamma-ray source using the analytical efficiency transfer technique. Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation code was also used to predict the detector response under the calibration geometry. The analytical efficiency transfer and Geant4 simulation results were compared with those obtained experimentally and a good agreement between them was shown.

Analytical Geometry Calibration for Acoustic Transceiver Arrays

There are many intelligent devices around us that have the ability to emit and receive audio signals, such as smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets. If they constitute an acoustic transceiver network, it can boost the performance of many audio processing tasks. The speaker localization and tracking algorithms using such a network require the prior information of node positions. To acquire this knowledge, we derive an analytical solution for geometry calibration of acoustic transceiver networks where each node consists of a microphone array and a loudspeaker. Specifically, a linear cost function for node orientations is first established using the delivered direction-of-arrival (DoA) measurements, and its analytical solution is derived. Next, based on the DoA and time-of-arrival (ToA) measurements, another cost function for node positions is formulated, which can also be solved in the closed form. Experimental results show that the proposed method can successfully estimate the geometry structure of acoustic transceiver networks in noisy and reverberant environments. In contrast to most state-of-the-art geometry calibration algorithms, which iteratively solve the calibration problem by optimization methods, the proposed method can decrease the computational complexity greatly.

Determination of 14C, 55Fe, 63Ni and gamma emitters in activated RPV steel samples: a comparison between calculations and experimental analysis

Determination of 14C, 55Fe, 63Ni and gamma emitters in two different types of activated reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel samples were carried out. The gamma emitters were analysed using HPGe detectors with ISOCS and standard geometry calibrations. Two radioanalytical procedures for the 14C, 55Fe, 63Ni analysis were developed using inactive samples and activated samples were analysed using modified procedures. A Monte Carlo code was used for the modelling of the activation results. The obtained measured and calculated results were comparable.