Real-time Two-dimensional Imaging Research Articles

Method for measuring blood flow and depth of blood vessel based on laser speckle contrast imaging using 3D convolutional neural network: A preliminary study

Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a technology that can acquire real-time two-dimensional perfusion images non-invasively. However, measuring perfusion velocity under a tissue is difficult due to its optical properties. Dynamic scattered light occurs by perfusion is diffused by the surrounding tissue and it depends on the depth of tissue. We aimed to develop a three-dimensional convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) model based on laser speckle contrast images to measure the flow velocity and the depth of tissue using a flow phantom. The training data was selected as a region containing both static speckles and dynamic speckles, and the model was trained on the laser speckle contrast image data. The trained model showed a measurement accuracy of more than 90 % for velocity and 99 % for depth measurement. This study has the potential of a deep-learning model based on LSCI to analyze the blood flow and depth of blood vessels in bio-applications.

Development of monitoring system for the muon rotating target at J-PARC using an infrared camera

An infrared camera was installed in the proton beamline upstream of the muon-producing rotating target for real-time two-dimensional temperature imaging of the target. For the first time in a muon production facility, temperature profiles of the target during high-intensity proton beam irradiation were obtained. The observed temperatures were similar to the evaluated values. A moving image of the target was successfully taken during the rotation. Accumulation of moving image data is expected to provide information on the thermal conductivity change due to radiation damage, and is expected to make a significant contribution to the development of accelerators and nuclear materials.

A Real-Time Monitoring Method for Civil Aircraft Take-Off and Landing Based on Synthetic Aperture Microwave Radiation Technology.

It is important to monitor the take-off and landing of civil aircraft using passive detection methods. Due to the strict aircraft safety requirements and the electromagnetic environment around an airport, using too many active detection methods should be avoided. Using an aircraft’s microwave radiation signal detection is very advantageous because it does not actively emit signals and has a strong cloud penetration, suitable for all-weather observation. This paper introduces a synthetic aperture microwave radiation system for monitoring the take-off and landing of civil aircraft, which is characterized by real-time two-dimensional imaging, and the image refresh rate can reach 10 ms, which meets the high refresh rate requirements for aircraft imaging. Applicable system parameters and antenna array distribution scheme and imaging algorithm are given. Then the paper focuses on the error analysis and correction method of the system. The correction method is simple and fast, which avoids the disadvantage that the error needs to be corrected regularly in the laboratory environment, and is suitable for airport application. Finally, the simulation and experimental results show that this technology can be used for real-time monitoring of civil aircraft during take-off and landing, and it is a practical means to assisting landing.

Why upright standing men urinate more efficiently than in supine position: A morphological analysis with real-time magnetic resonance imaging.

Few studies have examined the effects of body position on urination efficiency morphologically. We aimed to dissect out the anatomical changes of pelvic organs during urination in the upright and supine positions by a real-time magnetic resonance imaging (rtMRI) system. Thirteen healthy male volunteers aged 26-60 years were included in the study. The sagittal real-time two-dimensional images were taken to evaluate urinary efficiency, along with change in six morphological indices at the time of storage and the beginning of voiding, in both upright ant supine positions. Urination was more efficient in upright position than in supine position, as expressed by higher average rate of bladder emptying (9.9 ± 4.2 vs. 6.8 ± 2.9 ml/s, p < 0.05) and also by fewer participants showing significant residual urine (1/13 vs. 7/13, p < 0.05). At the onset of voiding in standing position, the levator ani (LA) muscle moves downward and backward followed by descent of the bladder neck and rotation of the prostate around the symphysis. Such changes were expressed by two morphological indices. One was posterior vesicourethral angle at the start of voiding, 152 ± 7 versus 140 ± 1 in upright and supine position (p < 0.05). The other index was the change in angle between the LA line and pubo-coccygeal line in upright and supine position, 9.4 ± 9.9 versus 1.6 ± 7.9 before voiding (p < 0.05) and 30.2 ± 14.0 versus 17.3 ± 12.9 after the start of voiding (p < 0.05). The dynamic relaxation of LA seemed to be a key movement that enables more efficient urination in standing position than in supine position.

Cardiac radioablation for atrial fibrillation: Target motion characterization and treatment delivery considerations.

The safe delivery of cardiac radioablation (CR) for atrial fibrillation (AF) is challenged by multi-direction target motion, cardiac rate variability, target proximity to critical structures, and the importance of complete target dose coverage for therapeutic benefit. Careful selection of appropriate treatment procedures is therefore essential. This work characterizes AF cardiac radioablation target motion and target proximity to surrounding structures in both healthy and AF participants to guide optimal treatment technique and technology choice. Ten healthy participants and five participants with AF underwent MRI acquisition. Multi-slice, cardiac-gated, breath-hold cines were acquired and interpolated to create three-dimensional images for 18-30 cardiac phases. Treatment targets at the left and right pulmonary vein ostia (CTVLeft and CTVRight respectively) and adjacent cardiac structures were contoured and their displacements throughout the cardiac cycle were assessed. Target proximity to surrounding structures were measured. Free-breathing real-time two-dimensional cine images were also acquired at 4Hz frequency for between 1- and 2-min duration. The motion of easily identifiable points within the target, diaphragm and sternum was measured to assess respiratory motion. Target motion due to cardiac contraction was most prominent in the medial-lateral direction and of 4-5mm magnitude. CTVRight displacements were smaller in participants with AF than healthy participants in normal sinus rhythm. Nearby cardiac structures often moved with different magnitudes and motion trajectories. CTVLeft and/or CTVRight were in direct contact with the esophagus in 73% of participants. Target motion due to respiration was most prominent in the superior-inferior direction and of 13-14mm magnitude in both healthy and AF participants. AF CR target motion and relative displacement was characterized. The combination of target motion magnitude and relative displacement to critical structures highlights the importance of personalizing motion compensation techniques for effective AF CR treatments.

Real-time fault diagnosis using deep fusion of features extracted by parallel long short-term memory with peephole and convolutional neural network

Analysis of one-dimensional vibration signals is the most common method used for safety analysis and health monitoring of rotary machines. How to effectively extract features involved in one-dimensional sequence data is crucial for the accuracy of real-time fault diagnosis. This article aims to develop more effective means of extracting useful features potentially involved in one-dimensional vibration signals. First, an improved parallel long short-term memory called parallel long short-term memory with peephole is designed by adding a peephole connection before each forget gate to prevent useless information transferring in the cell. It can not only solve the memory bottleneck problem of traditional long short-term memory for long sequence but also can make full use of all possible information helpful for feature extraction. Second, a fusion network with new training mechanism is designed to fuse features extracted from parallel long short-term memory with peephole and convolutional neural network, respectively. The fusion network can incorporate two-dimensional screenshot image into comprehensive feature extraction. It can provide more accurate fault diagnosis result since two-dimensional screenshot image is another form of expression for one-dimensional vibration sequence involving additional trend and locality information. Finally, real-time two-dimensional screenshot image is fed into convolutional neural network to secure a real-time online diagnosis which is the primary requirement of the engineers in health monitoring. Validity of the proposed method is verified by fault diagnosis for rolling bearing and gearbox.

Carotid duplex criteria: What have we learned in 40 years?

Before the development of the first prototype duplex ultrasound scanner at the University of Washington in the late 1970s, the only noninvasive tests available for extracranial carotid artery disease were indirect methods, such as the periorbital Doppler examination and oculoplethysmography. The duplex scanner combined real-time two-dimensional B-mode imaging and pulsed-Doppler flow detection in a single instrument and provided Doppler spectral waveforms from discrete sites within the vessel lumen. Spectral waveforms allowed characterization of the flow patterns and velocity changes associated with normal and diseased arteries. In a series of validation studies, Dr. D. Eugene Strandness, Jr. and colleagues compared various spectral waveform parameters obtained from internal carotid arteries to independently read carotid arteriograms and established quantitative threshold criteria for classification of carotid artery disease. These criteria were based on peak systolic velocity and end-diastolic velocity, as well as features such as spectral broadening and flow separation. Internal carotid arteries were classified as normal, 1% to 15% diameter reduction, 16% to 49% diameter reduction, 50% to 79% diameter reduction, 80% to 99% diameter reduction, and occluded. Since the 1980s, the University of Washington carotid duplex criteria have been widely used and modified in vascular laboratories throughout the world. Additional clinically relevant criteria have also been developed, such as a threshold for the 70% to 99% North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET) stenosis. Validation of carotid criteria has always depended on comparing spectral waveform parameters to the “gold standard” of contrast arteriography. However, experience has shown that the relationship between velocity and arteriographic stenosis is subject to significant variability. Based on these observations, standardization of carotid duplex criteria should lead to more consistent reporting among vascular laboratories, but it is unlikely to result in improved correlation with arteriography.

Image-guided vibrometry system integrated with spectral- and time-domain optical coherence tomography.

Vibrometry using optical coherence tomography (OCT) can provide valuable information for investigating either the mechanical properties or the physiological function of biological tissues, especially the hearing organs. Real-time imaging of the measured tissues provides structure imaging and spatial guidance for and is thus highly demanded by such vibrometry. However, the traditional time-domain OCT (TD-OCT) systems, although capable of subnanometric vibrometry at large ranges of frequencies, are unable to offer an imaging speed that is high enough to acquire depth-resolved images for guidance. The spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) systems, although allowing image-guided vibrometry, are challenged in measuring vibration at high frequencies, particularly for scattering tissue specimens that require longer exposure time to ensure imaging and vibrometry performance. This is because of their limit in the line-scan rate of the CCD, in which the maximum resolvable frequency measured by the SD-OCT is about 1/4 of the CCD line-scan rate in practice. In the present study, we have developed a dual-mode OCT system combining both SD-OCT and TD-OCT modalities for image-guided vibrometry, as the SD-OCT can provide guiding structural images in real-time and, moreover, the TD-OCT can guarantee vibrometry at large ranges of frequencies, including high frequencies. The efficacy of the developed system in image-guided vibrometry has been experimentally demonstrated using both piezoelectric ceramic transducer (PZT) and ex vivo middle-ear samples from guinea pigs. For the vibrometry of PZT, the minimum detectable vibration amplitude was reached at ∼0.01 nm. For the vibrometry of the sound-evoked biological samples, both real-time two-dimensional imaging and subnanometric vibrometry were performed at the frequency ranging from 1 to 40kHz. These results indicate that our dual-mode OCT system is able to act as an excellent vibrometer enabling image-guided high-frequency measurement.

Terahertz vortex beam generation by infrared vector beam rectification

We report on the conversion of an infrared vector beam into terahertz vortex beams using a &#x27E8;110&#x27E9;-cut ZnTe cubic crystal. First, we provide a theoretical analysis demonstrating how an infrared vector beam with the azimuthal order &#x2113; can be transformed into a terahertz beam endowed with an orbital angular moment content that consists of optical vortices with topological charge &#x00B1;2&#x2113;. Experimentally, quasi-monochromatic terahertz vortex beams with topological charges +2 and &#x2212;2 are produced and characterized both in amplitude and phase using real-time two-dimensional imaging of the terahertz electric field. These results enrich the terahertz vortex beam toolbox via the transfer of topological information from the infrared to terahertz domains.

Video-rate all-optical ultrasound imaging.

All-optical ultrasound imaging, where ultrasound is generated and detected using light, has recently been demonstrated as a viable modality that is inherently insensitive to electromagnetic interference and exhibits wide bandwidths. High-quality 2D and 3D all-optical ultrasound images of tissues have previously been presented; however, to date, long acquisition times (ranging from minutes to hours) have hindered clinical application. Here, we present the first all-optical ultrasound imaging system capable of video-rate, real-time two-dimensional imaging of biological tissue. This was achieved using a spatially extended nano-composite optical ultrasound generator, a highly sensitive fibre-optic acoustic receiver, and eccentric illumination resulting in an acoustic source exhibiting optimal directivity. This source was scanned across a one-dimensional source aperture using a fast galvo mirror, thus enabling the dynamic synthesis of source arrays comprising spatially overlapping sources at non-uniform source separation distances. The resulting system achieved a sustained frame rate of 15 Hz, a dynamic range of 30 dB, a penetration depth of at least 6 mm, a resolution of 75 µm (axial) by 100 µm (lateral), and enabled the dynamics of a pulsating ex vivo carotid artery to be captured.

P15.08: Preliminary application of biplane mode using real time electronic 4D technology for fetal intervention

Recently a newly developed real-time biplane mode using electronic 4D probe by GE Healthcare (Austria). This new probe realised real-time two-dimensional B-mode imaging (Biplane mode) and it also made possible to describe live needle tip moving. We applied this new technology into fetal intervention and analysed the feasibility and efficacy in some cases. We performed 8 cases of fetal intervention (2017.June-July) such as TTTS fetoscopic laser surgery, Radiofrequency ablation for TRAP sequence, fetal cord blood sampling, fetal blood transfusion, fetal ascites aspiration, thoraco-centesis for severe fetal pleural effusion, amnioinfusion and fetal intramuscular injection for anesthesia. We descriptively analysed the feasibility and efficacy of real-time two-dimensional B-mode bi-plane image using eM6C probe. In all cases, we found the safety because of the real-time two-dimensional images would provide other organ positions such as liver, lung, and heart that we could not see in using 1 dimensional image. In centesis into small cavity such as umbilical cord or thoracic cavity, 3D information supported us the successful centesis by leading tip position. The technical limit is that the well-trained assistant must chase the needle tip by tracking ball just online the guided needle after operator. We needed “momentary stop ” just before final insertion from the edge of the organ surface. Supporting information can be found in the online version of this abstract Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Real-Time Two-Dimensional Imaging of Solid Contaminants in Gas Pipelines Using an Electrical Capacitance Tomography System

In this paper, an electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) system for real-time measurement of solid contaminants in gas pipelines is presented. It consists of a ring of eight electrodes evenly distributed in the circular cross section of the probe. The speed-up enhancement is achieved using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) for the post-processing part of the system to accelerate the intensive matrix multiplications which are required in the image reconstruction algorithm. Experimental results on field-collected solid contaminants demonstrated the capability of the system to build in real-time two-dimensional cross-sectional images of the contaminants while giving an estimated measurement of their concentration. This allows the flow regime of the contaminants in the pipeline to be identified. Results also show that using Altera's Stratix V FPGA, 305 KLEs are required to achieve image reconstruction throughput up to 3233 frames/s for image size of 64 × 64 pixels. Simulation results were also conducted using finite-element method solver to assess the ECT probe for various image reconstruction algorithms (i.e., Linear back projection, Landweber, and modified Landweber algorithms). The results indicate a good matching with the experimental results.

Geometric phase shaping of terahertz vortex beams.

We propose a topological beam-shaping strategy of terahertz (THz) beams using geometric phase elements made of space-variant birefringent slabs. Quasi-monochromatic THz vortex beams are produced and characterized both in amplitude and phase from the reconstructed real-time two-dimensional imaging of the electric field. Nonseparable superpositions of such vortex beams are also obtained and characterized by two-dimensional polarimetric analysis. These results emphasize the versatility of the spin-orbit electromagnetic toolbox to prepare on-demand structured light endowed with polarization-controlled orbital angular momentum content in the THz domain, which should find many uses in future THz technologies.

Three-dimensional and real-time two-dimensional topological imaging using parallel computing

We present the Fast Topological IMaging that has shown promising results to quickly process a picture by sending an ultrasonic plane wave within an unknown medium. This imaging algorithm is close to adjoint-based inversion methods but relies on a fast calculation of the direct and adjoint fields formulated in the frequency domain. The radiation pattern of a transducer array is computed once and for all, and then the direct and adjoint fields are obtained as a simple multiplication with the emitted or received signals, in Fourier domain. The resulting image represents the variations of acoustic impedance, and therefore highlights interfaces or flaws. Real-time imaging and high definition visualization both imply an expensive computation cost, that led us to implement this method on GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Thanks to a massively parallel architecture, GPUs have become for ten years a new way to implement high performance algorithms. We used interoperability between OpenGL and CUDA to enable a real-time visualization. Experimental results in 2D/3D obtained with scalar waves are presented. At this time, the method has been implemented for acoustic waves in fluids, with an initial homogeneous medium, but it can be extended to elastic media and more complex configurations.

Why is a new journal dedicated to echocardiography required?

Why is a new journal dedicated to echocardiography required?

Real-time two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiographic imaging of the thoracic spinal cord: a possible new window into the central neuraxis.

Transesophageal echocardiography of the spine has been difficult to perform, and high-quality images have been difficult to obtain with earlier available technology. New capabilities in hardware and software reconstruction may allow more reliable clinical data to be obtained. We describe an initial successful attempt to image the adult spinal canal, its contents, and in situ instrumentation. This report is a retrospective review of two patients in whom transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was used to image the thoracic spine. The thoracic spine was identified and imaged with real-time 2-D and 3-D technology with location of the thoracic aorta and slight insertion and withdrawal of the TEE probe until the intervertebral discs alignment was optimized. Images of the spinal cord anatomy and its vascular supply, as well as indwelling epidural catheters were easily identified. 2-D and 3-D imaging was performed and images were recorded in digital imaging and communications in medicine format. 3-D reconstruction of images was possible with instantaneous 3-D imaging from multiple 2-D electrocardiogram-gated image acquisitions using the Phillips TEE IE-33 imaging platform. The central neuraxial cavity, including the spinal cord and the spinal nerve roots, was easily visualized, and motion of the cord was seen in a phasic pattern (with respiratory variation); cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the spinal cord was documented. The epidural space and local anesthetic drug administration through the epidural catheter were visualized, with the epidural catheter seen lying adjacent to the epidural tissue as a bright hyperechoic line. Pulsed-wave Doppler determined a biphasic pattern of blood flow in the anterior spinal artery through pulse mapping of the anatomic area. New, advanced imaging hardware and software generate clinically useful imaging of the thoracic spine in 2-D and 3-D using TEE. We believe this technology holds promise for future diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in the operating room that were previously unavailable.

Segregation in horizontal rotating cylinders using magnetic resonance imaging

The dynamics of granular materials, particularly radial and axial segregation in horizontal rotating cylinders containing large and small particles, is studied by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Stationary three-dimensional (3D) images and real-time two-dimensional (2D) structural images showing radial segregation, band formation, and band merging are reported. Quantitative local particle concentrations are measured in a noninvasive manner from the different magnetic resonance responses of the seeds throughout segregation. Data are acquired with sufficiently high temporal (300 ms for 2D images) and spatial resolutions (0.94 mm cubic voxels), to give insights into the underlying mechanisms of both radial and axial segregation. In particular, the increasing rate of the local particle concentration during radial segregation is quantified. Particle migration is observed in the bulk material of the 75% and 82% full cylinders during both radial and axial segregation, showing that this region beneath the avalanche layer does not behave as a solid body. We also provide direct experimental evidence to support recent numerical simulations of band merging.

Real-Time Two-Dimensional Imaging of Potassium Ion Distribution Using an Ion Semiconductor Sensor with Charged Coupled Device Technology

Two-dimensional real-time observation of potassium ion distributions was achieved using an ion imaging device based on charge-coupled device (CCD) and metal-oxide semiconductor technologies, and an ion selective membrane. The CCD potassium ion image sensor was equipped with an array of 32 × 32 pixels (1024 pixels). It could record five frames per second with an area of 4.16 × 4.16 mm(2). Potassium ion images were produced instantly. The leaching of potassium ion from a 3.3 M KCl Ag/AgCl reference electrode was dynamically monitored in aqueous solution. The potassium ion selective membrane on the semiconductor consisted of plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with bis(benzo-15-crown-5). The addition of a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane to the plasticized PVC membrane greatly improved adhesion of the membrane onto Si(3)N(4) of the semiconductor surface, and the potential response was stabilized. The potential response was linear from 10(-2) to 10(-5) M logarithmic concentration of potassium ion. The selectivity coefficients were K(K(+),Li(+))(pot) = 10(-2.85), K(K(+),Na(+))(pot) = 10(-2.30), K(K(+),Rb(+))(pot) =10(-1.16), and K(K(+),Cs(+))(pot) = 10(-2.05).

Three-Dimensional Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography of a Clear Corneal Cataract Incision

A prototype 1,310-nm wavelength spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) instrument was constructed and mounted onto a conventional slit lamp for imaging of the anterior segment. The device had an axial resolution of 8 microm and was able to acquire real-time two-dimensional images at 14 frames/second and full three-dimensional datasets in approximately 7 seconds. An SD-OCT dataset of 100 B-scans, each consisting of 512 A-scans, was acquired from the left eye ofa patient who had undergone phacoemulsification with a clear corneal incision. The resulting dataset could be manipulated in three-dimensional space to analyze the geometry of the wound. Additionally, stromal edema and iris features were clearly imaged with the device. SD-OCT can be used to analyze clear corneal incisions to determine optimal wound construction technique and geometry as they relate to the prevention of complications such as postoperative wound leak, infection, and epithelial ingrowth.

Domain decomposition for variational optical-flow computation

We present an approach to parallel variational optical-flow computation by using an arbitrary partition of the image plane and iteratively solving related local variational problems associated with each subdomain. The approach is particularly suited for implementations on PC clusters because interprocess communication is minimized by restricting the exchange of data to a lower dimensional interface. Our mathematical formulation supports various generalizations to linear/nonlinear convex variational approaches, three-dimensional image sequences, spatiotemporal regularization, and unstructured geometries and triangulations. Results concerning the effects of interface preconditioning, as well as runtime and communication volume measurements on a PC cluster, are presented. Our approach provides a major step toward real-time two-dimensional image processing using off-the-shelf PC hardware and facilitates the efficient application of variational approaches to large-scale image processing problems.