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S J Riederer

Publications and source records attributed to S J Riederer.

162 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Real-time digital K-edge subtraction fluoroscopy.

We report in vitro and in vivo trials of K-edge fluoroscopy, by which iodine contrast concentration is displayed live, with tissue and bone images suppressed, free of patient-motion artifacts. Iodine and cerium, 125 and 225 mg/cm2 respectively, filter alternate TV fields of cine-pulsed 50 KVP x-rays. Weighted subtraction of successive TV fields isolates the iodine image and simultaneously minimizes artifacts. Digital techniques are used in real time. At our present x-ray tube limit, 500 mA instantaneous current, the patient exposure is 180 mR/sec and quantum mottle limits the image quality. Integrating four successive difference images provides a compromise between mottle and smoothly moving displays. Cardiovascular images of a 17-kg dog, using 1 ml/kg Renografin-60 injected into a foreleg vein, show that a 15-cm chest thickness is our present practical maximum. This method may be useful in diagnosing cardiovascular anomalies in infants without catheterization or suspension of breathing.

Animals↗
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Computerized fluoroscopy techniques for intravenous study of cardiac chamber dynamics.

A computerized fluoroscopy system which was recently developed in our laboratories permits image contrast increases of 8-16 relative to conventional image intensifer fluoroscopy and permits study of canine and human ventricular wall motion using peripheral intravenous injections. Two time-dependent image subtraction algorithms are illustrated in connection with observation of artificially infarcted dog hearts. The first algorithm produces a display analogous to direct ventriculography using catheterization. The second displays regions of dyskinetic motion as anomalous image grey shades.

Animals↗
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Some useful concepts of matched filtering in intravenous digital subtraction angiography.

Using computer calculations and assumed contrast bolus curves, several aspects of the application of temporal integration methods and matched filtering to intravenous digital subtraction angiography (IV-DSA) were studied. The topics included the improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the final image provided by simple integration, a comparison of the SNR performance of matched filtering and extensive integration, the degradation of SNR caused by the motion of noniodinated objects and the sensitivity of SNR to variations in DSA bolus dynamics from patient to patient. Additionally the dependence of matched filter SNR on exposure position and duration was both estimated and demonstrated with clinical DSA images. The results indicate that a substantial improvement in SNR can be obtained with only moderate integration increasing to a two X improvement for longer durations. Integration methods are able to withstand moderate durations (2 seconds) of motion and still provide image quality superior to more conventional DSA results.

Angiography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Improved precision in calculated T1 MR images using multiple spin-echo acquisition.

Calculated T1 images require that magnetic resonance signals be detected at several inversion or repetition times (TR). Multiple spin-echo (SE) acquisitions provide several measurements of the magnetization at each TR, the signal size diminishing according to T2 decay. In this work we review one method (Case 1) for estimating T1 from single echoes and present four new methods (Cases 2-5) in which multiple acquired echoes are used. For Case 2 a fit is performed using the first echo at each TR, repeated using second echoes, etc., and the final T1 estimate is the simple average of the individual fits at each echo time (TE). For Case 3 the optimum weighted average is performed. For Cases 4 and 5 synthetic SE images are generated at each TR prior to the T1 fit, Case 4 using a synthetic TE of zero, and Case 5 using a TE providing maximum signal-to-noise ratio in the synthetic image. The relative precision in T1 provided by each method is calculated rigorously. It is proven that Cases 3 and 5 are optimum and equivalent and can theoretically reduce the noise in T1 images by as much as 40% over Case 1 with no increase in scanning time. Approximations are proposed that enable the optimum methods to be implemented in a practical fashion. Experimental images are presented that verify the relative predicted behavior.

Brain↗
PubMedDate not supplied

MR subtraction angiography with a matched filter.

The technique of matched filtering (MF) has been used in the past with X-ray digital subtraction angiography as a method of improving signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in subtraction angiographic images. In this work we describe how MF can be applied to a series of images produced by cinematographic magnetic resonance (cine MR) to produce angiographic images. Likewise, a simple subtraction image can be formed by subtracting an image in which flow is not well visualized from an image at the same location but with flow visualization. Theory predicts that a subtraction image resulting from the MF technique will yield typical SNR improvements of 60% over results from simple subtraction. Twenty-one studies of the human popliteal, canine aorta, and canine carotid artery were undertaken in which MF was compared with simple subtraction. It was determined that cine MR can be used to produce subtraction angiographic images and that MF can produce a modest improvement in SNR over simple subtraction.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Spectral considerations for absorption-edge fluoroscopy.

In our previous reports on absorption-edge fluoroscopy, it was not possible to relate fully the subtleties involved in the selection of spectral parameters. This paper is intended as an overview of this important aspect of the technique. It is shown that, by using the 1-kVp, 2-filter technique, it is possible to image certain elements (e.g., iodine and xenon) in the presence of tissue variations of +/-2 cm about the thickness at which perfect tissue cancellation takes place. Use of logarithmic signal processing extends this range, but bone thickness variations may not be accomodated because only two x-ray energies are involved in the imaging process. Use of a 3-kVp, 3-filter technique with logarithmic signal processing is shown to solve this problem. Computer simulations show that 1-mg/cm2 iodine may be imaged in the presence of 10 cm or more tissue variations and 2000-mg/cm2 bone variations.

Bone and Bones↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Selective iodine imaging using K-edge energies in computerized x-ray tomography.

Iodine is commonly used as a contrast material in computerized x-ray tomography. In some cases the determination of the iodine distribution in the image may be prevented by the presence of bone or tissue variations within the tomographic slice. This paper describes a method for quantitative selective imaging of the iodine concentration in the slice. The method employs scans using three heavily filtered x-ray beams, two having mean energies which straddle the iodine K edge (33 keV) and another at a slightly higher energy. The results are independent of tissue and bone over a broad range of projection path lengths. It is shown that, for separation of iodine from one other material, a two-beam K-edge approach requires less integral dose than a two-beam technique at conventional CT energies for slice diameters up to 30 cm. For selective iodine imaging in the presence of more than one other material, the three-spectrum K-edge technique is a necessity. Exposure requirements and beam-hardening corrections are discussed in detail and a computer-simulated CT image generated by the proposed scheme is presented.

Contrast Media↗
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Relative properties of tomography, K-edge imaging, and K-edge tomography.

The properties of tomography, K-edge imaging, and K-edge tomography are discussed in relation to the imaging of small concentrations of elements such as iodine and xenon and are compared by means of phantom images. It is demonstrated that the complementary selectivities provided by depth and energy subtraction are combined in K-edge tomography. Using a three-spectrum subtraction technique, the iodine difference signal predicted by computer calculations is on the order of 8000 times that of an equal concentration fo bone. The corresponding ratio in tomography without energy subtraction is 20:1. It is argued that K-edge tomography can successfully eliminate artifacts due to tissue inhomogeneities which presently enable 0.6% variations in tissue attenuation to mimic minimum detectable iodine signals in conventional computed tomography. Various instrumentation possibilities and energy subtraction techniques are discussed.

Models, Structural↗
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Limitations to iodine isolation using a dual beam non-K-edge approach.

In dual-beam selective iodine imaging, images of an object are made with each of two spectrally different x-ray beams. The mean beam energies may either straddle the 33 keV iodine K-edge or both lie above the K-edge. Both patient exposure considerations and the availability of sufficient x-ray flux make the latter approach favorable for tissue thicknesses exceeding 5 cm. Consider such an approach in which image contrast from tissue is suppressed in the difference image. It is proven theoretically that the residual bone-to-iodine contrast is a constant independent of the two mean beam energies used. This invariance principle is demonstrated experimentally by comparing images made from different pairs of x-ray spectra. Observed contrast ratios match the predicted value very well. In dual-beam imaging, contrast from only one material may be suppressed. Other substances yield residual signals which compete with the iodine. Subtleties of this incomplete cancellation are demonstrated, discussed, and quantitated. A contrast enhancement factor (CEF) is defined as the factor by which iodine contrast is enhanced in a multiple beam subtraction technique relative to monoenergetic imaging at 40 keV. CEFs are determined for tissue and bone cancellation separately and their limits are discussed. Images of a simulated artery containing iodine superimposed over a Rando head and neck phantom show that the CEF limitation for dual beam imaging is quite severe compared to a time dependent mask mode imaging approach. Finally, optimum, energies for dual beam images are discussed.

Bone and Bones↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Application of the noise power spectrum to positron emission CT self-absorption correction.

Two methods are compared in correcting for self-absorption in positron emission CT scans, or equivalently, in determining the integral of attenuation along a strip in a cross section. These are CT reconstruction and direct measurement. It is shown that the former method is slightly more precise than the latter with the degree of improvement proportional to the number of angles used. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the CT approach is statistically very inefficient in its use of detected events in comparison to the direct approach. For the CT case, it is shown using the noise power spectrum that two-thirds of the variance in the attenuation integral is from one projection alone, namely that along the direction of the strip. The remaining one-third is primarily from adjacent projections. For the problem of determining the attenuation in a single strip within the slice, the CT approach is not recommended. However, if the problem is extended to a complete set of strips within the slice, as is desired in positron emission CT, the CT approach may require considerably less counting time than the direct approach for comparable precision.

Statistics as Topic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Three-beam K-edge imaging of iodine using differences between fluoroscopic video images: theoretical considerations.

Our lab has previously generated selective iodine images with an image intensifier fluoroscopic system using a three-beam K-edge approach. Logarithmically amplified video images Li were linearly combined to yield the final image k1L1 + k2L2 + k3L3. This paper discusses refinements of the K-edge technique. A study is made of the manner in which contrast-reducing effects such as x-ray scatter and image intensifier veiling glare enter into the final image. If such biases can be approximated as multiplicative and independent of the x-ray spectrum, and if the sum of the ki is zero, then the biases are canceled. Experimental data is presented which demonstrates that the inaccuracy due to such biases can be reduced by a factor as large as 10. The theorem that K1 + K2 + K3 is approximately equal to 0 is proven rigorously and discussed. Because the ki add to zero, the final image can be expressed as a linear combination of two of the differences between the Li. A difference-based algorithm which reduces biases and make allowance for nonlinearities such as beam hardening is proposed and discussed.

Fluoroscopy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Three-beam K-edge imaging of iodine using differences between fluoroscopic video images: experimental results.

In an earlier article we discussed the rationale for using differences between video images in three-beam selective iodine K-edge imaging. Rather than combining three initial images Li linearly to yield the final image k1L1 + k2L2 + k3L3, differences between the Li were first generated and then combined either to linear or quadratic order. This approach was motivated by the desire to suppress the large multiplicative biases of fluoroscopic imaging and justified by theoretically proving that k1 + k2 + k3 is approximately equal to 0. In this paper we discuss the instrumentation and experimental results obtained from this difference-based technique. A specially-constructed apparatus is described which automatically selects the optimum combination coefficients and combines the difference images up to quadratic order at realtime video rates. Three methods for generating K-edge subtraction images are compared: the former approach in which the Li are linearly combined and combination of differences to linear and quadratic order. In imaging phantoms in which the iodine distribution is known, the resultant subtraction images from all three methods appear similar. Inspection of signal sizes shows that the quadratic difference-based approach provides superior bone and tissue residual suppression by about a factor of 2. In imaging phantoms in which the iodine distribution is unknown, incomplete suppression of x-ray scatter and image intensifier veiling glare prevent a quantitative comparison of performance of the three algorithms. An experiment verification is provided of the theorem which states that k1 + k2 + k3 is approximately equal to 0.

Fluoroscopy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Generalized image combinations in dual KVP digital radiography.

Dual energy basis decomposition techniques apply to single projection radiographic imaging. The high and low energy images are non-linearly transformed to generate two energy-independent images characterizing the integrated Compton/photoelectric attenuation components. Characteristic linear combinations of these two basis images identify unknown materials, cancel known materials, and generate synthesized monoenergetic images. The problems of intervening materials and material displacement are solved in general for a wide class of clinical imaging tasks. The basis projection angle identifies one from a family of energy selective imaging tasks, and such performance measures as the contrast enhancement factor (CEF) and signal to noise ratio (SNR) are expressed as functions of this angle. Algorithms for the decomposition of high and low energy measurements are compared and experimental images are included.

Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The technical characteristics of matched filtering in digital subtraction angiography.

The technical characteristics of a new digital fluorographic image processing method called matched filtering are presented. This technique, a type of extensive temporal integration, takes a weighted sum of images acquired during passage of a contrast bolus through some area of interest. The weight of each image is governed by the magnitude of the contrast bolus in that image. An essential requirement of the matched filter is that its integral be zero. It is shown for equal exposure rates and typical bolus characteristics that matched filtering provides a factor of two higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than conventional methods for bolus transit times of 10 s or higher. Equilvalently, matched filtering can yield images with quality comparable to conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) at a factor of four less patient exposure. The SNR obtained with matched filtering is shown to be within 30% of an ideal bound. Comparisons of matched filtering to standard recursive methods and simple integration are made. Experimental canine studies are presented which compare matched filtering with conventional DSA.

Angiography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The precision of TR extrapolation in magnetic resonance image synthesis.

We present a model of noise propagation from acquired magnetic resonance (MR) images to TR-extrapolated synthetic images. This model assumes that images acquired at two repetition times TR1 and TR2 are used to generate synthetic images at arbitrary repetition times TR. The predictions of the model are compared with experimentally acquired phantom data, and show excellent agreement. The model is utilized in an analysis of two applications of MR image synthesis: scan time reduction and multiple-image synthesis. Scan time is reduced by acquiring data at two short repetition times, and synthesizing at a longer repetition time, with TR1 + TR2 less than TR. For T1 = 800 ms, a reduction of 20% in scan time results in a 45% reduction in signal-to-noise ratio SNR, when compared to direct acquisition. Reducing scan time by much more than 20% produces large noise levels in the synthetic image, and is unlikely to be useful. In multiple-image synthesis, images are synthesized at any repetition time in the range 0 to TR1 + TR2, for contrast optimization. If T1 = 800 ms, and TR1 + TR2 = 2000 ms, the optimum combination of TR1, TR2 results in synthetic images whose SNR is at worst 22% less than the SNR of directly acquired images. For many values of TR, the synthetic images have SNR superior to that obtainable by direct acquisition.

Brain↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An analysis of noise propagation in computed T2, pseudodensity, and synthetic spin-echo images.

Methods are reviewed for estimating the transverse relaxation time T2 and the pseudodensity (PD) from spin-echo measurements acquired at an arbitrary set of echo times [TEi]. Least-squares fitting is applied to the logarithmically processed signals for the case in which the weights are proportional to the inverse of the logarithmically transformed signal variances (the minimum variance case). General formulas are derived for the estimated noise levels in the PD and T2 estimates due to the propagation of uncertainties in the original measurements. It is shown that the T2 and PD estimates are anticorrelated. Additionally, an expression is derived for the variance in a synthetic spin-echo signal subsequently formed from the PD and T2 estimates. It is shown that under many circumstances a signal synthesized at some echo time can have a signal-to-noise ratio superior to that in a signal directly acquired at that time. Experimental measurements made on phantoms match the theoretical predictions to a high degree.

Analysis of Variance↗
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Cerebral magnetic resonance image synthesis.

The authors previously described magnetic resonance (MR) image synthesis, a process that enables the investigator to manipulate imaging parameters retrospectively and generate or "synthesize" the image that corresponds to various arbitrary scanning factors. They demonstrate the validity and utility of synthetic spin-echo images in cerebral imaging. As a test of their method, spin-echo images are synthesized for echo times identical to those of the original acquired images as well as for alternate values. Subjectively, the quality of synthetic and acquired images is comparable. It is shown quantitatively for several tissue types that the reconstructed synthetic signal matches the acquired signal within the uncertainty of the acquired images. Observed and measured noise levels in the acquired and synthetic images are comparable. Because of a signal-averaging effect, the synthetic images can have a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the source images, thereby providing improved boundary definition. Applications of MR image synthesis are discussed with respect to potential reduction in scanning time. The advantages of image synthesis versus analysis of computed images are discussed.

Adult↗