PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

J L Coatrieux

Publications and source records attributed to J L Coatrieux.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

A framework for automatic analysis of the dynamic behaviour of coronary angiograms.

A framework for coronary vessels analysis in digital subtracted angiograms is described. This method combines the motion estimation with the frame-to-frame structure detection in a natural way such that they act interactively. The first step consists of the extraction of the vessel centrelines in one image and their organization into meaningful constituents or branches of the coronary arterial tree. The motion is then estimated along the centrelines through a gradient based method. These motion estimates supply an initial positioning of an active contour model (or 'snake') in the next image. This model adapts itself by changing its shape to accurately fit onto the new centrelines. This process is then reiterated on the subsequent images to depict the dynamic behaviour of all the relevant branches. The main interests of this scheme are: (1) the active models operate locally so a fast detection of the vessels can be performed; (2) the centrelines extraction is fully guided by the confluence of the motion estimation and the contour model; (3) both morphological and kinetic features are provided on a quantitative basis.

Algorithms

IBIS integrated biological imaging system: electron micrograph image-processing software running on Unix workstations.

'IBIS' is a set of computer programs concerned with the processing of electron micrographs, with particular emphasis on the requirements for structural analyses of biological macromolecules. The software is written in FORTRAN 77 and runs on Unix workstations. A description of the various functions and the implementation mode is given. Some examples illustrate the user interface.

Computer Systems

Knowledge-based approach to the management of serious arrhythmia in the CCU.

An expert system (SETA) for the management of patients in the CCU environment has been developed. SETA suggests therapeutic actions for the treatment of serious arrhythmias that complicate the pathophysiological state of patients recovering from acute and suspected myocardial infarction. The prototype begins by reasoning from the arrhythmia, diagnosed from the ECG signal, and progresses through its inference process by considering ECG changes (i.e. heart rate, QRS width), patient clinical data, patient history and therapeutic drug data, to reach the most appropriate actions for each particular patient. The system was implemented on production rules using M1 as a development tool. SETA uses a multiknowledge base (KB) architecture, one for each particular arrhythmia and relevant complication, and a decision board that controls the firing of the KBs and keeps track of patient status through time. The system takes into consideration aspects that are very important for the human expert, e.g. sequence of arrhythmia appearance, drug contraindications and priority in the case of simultaneous arrhythmia. The development of this system has given insight into the management of critical CCU patients, that should influence the specification and design of intelligent instruments for this clinical environment.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac

Computer graphics in medicine: a survey.

Increased interest is presently given to three-dimensional (3-D) medical applications due to simultaneous emergence of high-resolution imaging systems and computer graphics techniques. This paper intends to present a survey of this field together with discussion and prospective views. The general framework is composed of six parts: data acquisition and preprocessing, polygonal object representation, voxel description, system architecture, medical applications, and prospects. Data base acquisition includes characterization of imaging modalities and medical specificity. Preprocessing schemes are directed to improvements (filtering), windowing, and spatial anisotropy (linear or spline interpolation). The two following sections are devoted to descriptions of the main object representations. Particular emphasis is given to optimal contour approximation, surface triangulation, mathematical surfaces on one hand, and cuberille and voxel representations on the other. Display capabilities--hidden surface removal, surface normal shading, structure enhancement--and data base structuration--hierarchical and nonhierarchical (graph and tree encoding)--are, respectively, described. An overview of 3-D systems is further given (Section V), and features of medical applications are reviewed and gathered in basic functionalities, surgery, and radiotherapy specifications (Section VI). The last section provides some prospective views on reconstruction from a few projections, model-guided labeling, multimodality image overlay, and local image network. Some of these issues are illustrated by examples of 3-D images.

Computer Graphics

An attempt to differentiate female relatives of Duchenne type dystrophy from healthy subjects using an automatic EMG analysis.

A new automatic EMG analysis and on-line assignment of MUAP into 8 dynamic cluster algorithm classes (P1......P8) were applied to female relatives of patients with Duchenne type dystrophy. Promising results are given. MUAP amplitude and duration differed significantly in the female relatives compared to the control subjects. MUAP distribution patterns found in the carrier population were significantly different from those found in controls; the carrier population exhibited higher percentages of MUAP (than healthy subjects) in the classes where were assigned the great majority of the potentials obtained from patients with Duchenne type dystrophy. All the known carriers and 55.5% of the possible carriers were detected using these methods. Nevertheless, the absolute accuracy of the results cannot yet be considered achieved because no recognizable distribution pattern was observed in carrier's daughters. No correlation was found between CK levels and EMG distribution.

Adult

Automatic classification of electromyographic signals.

The results of the application of classification methods to electromyograph signals of weak contractions in normal and myopathic subjects are described. Methods of pattern recognition, previously presented, allow the selection of representative motor unit action potentials. The analysis is done with ordinal qualitative variables obtained by identification of shape descriptive parameters (amplitude, duration, number of phases, number of extrema). From this analysis, characteristic classes for normality and myopathy appear, from which a diagnostic aid by assignment can be made.

Action Potentials

Vascular network segmentation in subtraction angiograms: a comparative study.

The three-dimensional reconstruction of vascular trees from a very limited number of two-dimensional projections is an active research field. The quality of the results (resolution in terms of vessel size and geometrical location) is highly dependent on the overall distortions introduced in the data acquisition process but is also related to the reliability of feature detection. A new approach based on mathematical morphology is proposed in this paper for extracting the centrelines and edges of coronary vessels from digital subtracted angiograms. These results are compared with those from an alternative method based on vectorial tracking and a directed contour finder.

Angiography, Digital Subtraction

Surface electromyogram automatic analysis and Guillain-Barré syndrome follow up.

An automatic and quantitative framework for the analysis of surface EMG interference patterns at maximal non-controlled force is described. The main contents are focused on different ways to represent surface EMG signals and to analyse collected data set through principal component analysis. The methods are tested on control individuals and on patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome examined at different moments after the beginning of the disease (first week, three months, and one year). The results exhibit that a high diagnostic yield can be provided and furthermore that quantification and differentiation can be expected. Surface EMG interference pattern may be hoped to be a useful tool in daily practice.

Adult