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Effect of varying gray-scale resolution for detectability of bone lesions in intraoral radiographs digitized for teletransmission.

Visual communication equipments were developed early by radiologists for the transmission of analog signals, whereas today's transmission systems are based on digitization of the radiograph. For teletransmission of dental radiographs, it is essential to assess the diagnostic accuracy of various spatial and gray-scale resolutions. Each of 83 dry mandibles was divided into four regions. By random assignment it was decided for each region whether or not a hole should be drilled. Intraoral radiographs (3 x 4 cm) were performed of each region and interpreted. The radiographs were thereafter recorded by a video camera connected to an IBM-PC. The personal computer held a hardware digitization card defined at a 512 x 512 spatial resolution with the possibility of selecting varying gray-scale resolutions. All radiographs were assessed in resolutions with 256 (8 bit), 128 (7 bit), 64 (6 bit), and 32 (5 bit) shades of gray. In no case was the original radiograph more accurate than the 512 x 512 x 8 resolution. In two of the regions evaluated, the images providing 32 shades of gray were less accurate (percentage of true positives and negatives) than the other resolutions (P less than 0.05) while in one region resolutions of 8 bit depth (256 shades of gray) provided a significantly greater accuracy than did the original radiograph and the other image resolutions (P less than 0.05). This was due to fewer false negative scores and was not followed by an increase in false positive scores. It can be concluded that a 512 x 512 spatial resolution is satisfactory for the detection of bone lesions in digitized intraoral radiographs and that 64 shades of gray provide an equally good diagnostic accuracy as do the original radiograph. This might be relevant when transmission times are of importance.

Animals

Degradations in frequency and temporal resolution with age and their impact on speech identification.

Measures of frequency resolution were obtained in two population samples. The first sample comprised 1764 subjects with various degrees of sensorineural hearing impairment aged from 17 to 80 years. The second sample included 229 subjects with ages between 50 and 75 years, balanced to avoid confounding the effects of impairment and age. Subjects in the second sample were also assessed using a gap-detection measure of temporal resolution and a test of speech identification using sentences in noise. In both samples, frequency resolution ability declined progressively with increasing hearing threshold level (HTL). After accounting for the effects of HTL, there was a minor dependence of frequency resolution on age, older subjects having poorer frequency resolution. Temporal resolution deteriorated with HTL but not with age. The speech identification scores could be predicted from HTL at 2 and 8 kHz and age. Frequency resolution was not a factor. Temporal resolution was only a factor when subjects with extremely poor temporal resolution were included.

Aged

Requirements on resolution of digital imaging equipment in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.

We evaluated the requirements on spatial resolution of digital imaging equipment in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Fifty cinefilms of the heart as the biological object and one film of a lead-ladder-pattern as an objective test were used. The patient films were examined for the visibility of the left ventricular angiogram, coronary arterial tree, coronary artery lesions, branching of septal arteries and the number of septal arteries. All films were viewed three times: with a 625 line TV-system, with a 1249 line TV-system and with a cineprojector. It was found that two application areas with different demands on the spatial and temporal resolution can be distinguished: 1) low spatial resolution and high temporal resolution, e.g. left ventriculography; and 2) high spatial resolution and low temporal resolution, e.g. coronary arteriography. For the diagnostic assessment of the state of the coronary system, the spatial resolution provided by the 1249 line TV-system was sufficient. Exceeding this resolution by using cinefilm quality provided no additional diagnostic information. A frame rate lower than 50 frames per second for coronary arteriography seems possible.

Angiography

Effect of mAs and kVp on resolution and on image contrast.

Two clinical experiments were conducted to study the effect of kVp and mAs on resolution and on image contrast percentage. The resolution was measured with a "test pattern." By using a transmission densitometer, image contrast percentage was determined by a mathematical formula. In the first part of the experiment, the density of the film was kept constant by changing the kVp and mAs. In the second part of the experiment, different mAs's were chosen, and for each mAs, several kVp's were used. Five observers read the radiographs. The first experiment showed that, when the film density is kept constant, the higher the kVp, the lower the resolution and image contrast percentage; also, the higher the mAs, the higher the resolution and image contrast percentage. The second experiment showed that when the film density is not kept constant, the correlation between kVp and resolution and between kVp and image contrast percentage was the same as in the first experiment. However, there was negligible correlation between mAs and resolution and between mAs and image contrast percentage. A high positive correlation was found between resolution and image contrast percentage, but a high negative correlation was found between resolution and film density.

Absorptiometry, Photon

Ultimate limits in ultrasonic imaging resolution.

According to elementary theory, the resolution of an ultrasonic imaging system increases with the ultrasonic frequency. However, frequency is limited by frequency-dependent attenuation. For imaging at any required depth, resolution improvement beyond the limit imposed by ultrasonic frequency can be obtained by increasing the ultrasonic intensity. This is itself, however, dependent on safety considerations and the effects of nonlinearity. In homogeneous media, image resolution increases with decreasing f-number. Particularly at low f-numbers, however, tissue inhomogeneity leads to a deterioration in image quality. Inhomogeneity may also be considered in terms of phase aberration. It has been found that for a given aperture, image degradation due to phase aberration is worse at higher frequencies. Schemes have been proposed for correction of this problem, but so far model systems do not lend themselves to clinical application. Deconvolution is unsatisfactory, speed correction is impracticable and synthetic aperture scanning and holography are virtually useless in biological tissues. Ultrasound-computed tomography has had only limited success. Speckle reduction can improve target detectability, but at the expense of resolution. Time-frequency control provides a useful partial solution to the problem of resolution reduction resulting from attenuation. It is clear that improved resolution would result in significant clinical benefits. An optimisation system for aperture size and ultrasonic frequency is proposed with signal averaging for resolution enhancement of a defined object area. This would have a compact ultrasonic beam and would allow frame rate to be traded for resolution, by means of signal averaging.

Humans

Useful resolution for picture perception as a function of eccentricity.

Observers inspected for different lengths of time pictures which contained high-resolution information within an eye-contingent viewing window and low-resolution information outside the area of that window. A recognition test followed in which the pictures inspected were presented together with other, distractor, pictures. The time required to reach 75% picture recognition (the criterion study time) was determined as a function of window size and degree of completeness of video sampling of information outside the window. For each level of information sampling density, criterion study time decreased as window size increased up to a critical size, and then remained approximately constant beyond this size. From these critical-window sizes, a function which describes the resolution actually used by the visual system at each eccentricity (the useful-resolution function) was obtained and this decreased monotonically with eccentricity. The useful resolution at each eccentricity was coarser than the resolution available at that eccentricity as determined by visual acuity, suggesting that useful resolution is not limited by visual acuity. The relationship between useful resolution and saccade length was also analyzed.

Eye Movements

High-resolution digital teleradiology: a perspective.

Teleradiology has come a long way, from analog transmission systems using slow-scan television over standard telephone lines, to present-day, commercially available, microcomputer-based, low-resolution teleradiology systems. However, there exists a need to address the high-resolution end of the medical imaging categories, namely chest radiographs and mammograms, to firmly establish teleradiology. The availability of high-resolution image digitizers, display units, and digital hard copiers has made high-resolution digital teleradiology a feasible concept. Although the use of satellite channels can speed up the transmission of radiographic image data, with widespread acceptance of high-resolution teleradiology systems in the foreseeable future, the sheer amount of data involved in this field will give rise to problems of data transmission and storage. Data compression schemes can bring down the amount of data handled and can have a great economic impact on future teleradiology systems. We have developed a number of compression techniques for reversible compression of medical images. Our experiments have shown that lossless compression of the order of 4:1 is possible for a class of high-resolution medical images. Use of pattern recognition techniques offers the potential to bring down these data rates even further. We plan to use these techniques in a prototype high-resolution teleradiology system being developed. In this paper, we trace some of the developments in teleradiology and image data compression, and present a perspective for teleradiology in the 1990s.

Radiographic Image Enhancement

Complex sound analysis (frequency resolution, filtering and spectral integration) by single units of the inferior colliculus of the cat.

The central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) is a center of convergence of brainstem input and is critical for auditory information processing. Here, the analysis of complex sound spectra by single neurons in the ICC is investigated. Several measures of frequency resolution (excitatory/inhibitory tuning curves, effective bandwidths, critical ratio bands, critical bands derived using narrowband masking and two-tone separation paradigms) have been obtained from the responses of these neurons at sound pressure levels (SPL) up to 80 dB above the units' response thresholds (nearly 110 dB SPL). Among our results are the following: (1) Narrowband masking measures of critical bands from ICC neurons closely parallel behavioral measures using the same stimulus paradigm. (2) Frequency resolution power as measured by critical bandwidths varies little as a function of stimulus intensity. (3) Tuning curves of ICC neurons provide no simple basis for predicting the frequency filtering of the same neurons excited by complex sound spectra. (4) There is a frequency dependence of all measures of frequency resolution similar to that found in psychophysical determinations of critical bandwidths. That is, spatial frequency resolution in the cochlea is the origin for the resolution found in the ICC and in behavioral tests. (5) Lateral inhibition at the level of the ICC clearly plays a role in frequency resolution. (6) Frequency resolution is encoded by response rate changes of ICC neurons and is independent of tone response threshold, response latency, spontaneous activity, tone response type, binaural response type. It is concluded that spectral analysis of sound is established by processes, including lateral inhibition, independent of other basic response properties of neurons at the level of the ICC.

Acoustic Stimulation

Intraocular lens resolution in air and water.

The resolution of 96 polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lenses with convexo-plano optics, ranging in power from 13 to 27 diopters, was measured in air and water. The resolution of each lens was expressed in linear units of resolving power, which is the maximum number of line-pairs that can be resolved per millimeter, as described in the current ANSI Standard Z80.7-1984. There was no clearly defined relationship between linear resolving power measured in air and that measured in water. Measurements on high power lenses (greater than 20 diopters) indicate that it is possible for an intraocular lens to meet the current 100 line-pair per millimeter standard for resolution and still be a limiting factor in a patient's best attainable visual acuity. An alternative method for evaluating lens resolution is to determine the resolution efficiency (the relative percentage performance of a lens compared to a diffraction-limited lens of the same dioptric power). Using these units, a consistent and predictable relationship from air to water was demonstrated. Our findings confirm that if a minimum standard of 30% resolution efficiency in air is established, in contrast to linear resolving power, the lens will perform near its diffraction limit when implanted in the eye. For intraocular lenses of materials other than polymethylmethacrylate, a minimum resolution efficiency in air other than 30% may be required.

Air

Spatial resolution and count density requirements in brain SPECT imaging.

A set of simulations has been performed to investigate the spatial resolution and count density requirements for brain SPECT imaging. Projections were drawn from a matrix representation of the Hoffman brain phantom. These projections were convolved with realistic point spread functions and Poisson noise was added to simulate a wide range of imaging situations normalized to a fixed imaging time. The projections were optimally smoothed with a Wiener filter and were reconstructed with a ramp filter. The quality of the reconstructed images was determined objectively from the normalized mean square between the simulated data and the true distribution. This ranking was validated against the preferences of a group of trained observers. The results from this study indicate that the optimal choice of spatial resolution (collimation) depends on the available count density. As the count density (normalized to 10 mm resolution) increases by a factor of 2.7, results from the simulations indicate that the optimal spatial resolution improves by 1 mm. For brain studies in which the administered activity is limited (such as 123I IMP), the optimal spatial resolution is approximately 8 to 9 mm. With 99Tcm labelled brain agents the amount of administered radioactivity can be increased six-fold and the optimal spatial resolution is predicted to fall to about 6 to 7 mm. If sensitivity is further increased by the use of a dedicated SPECT unit with multiple detectors, the optimal spatial resolution will be on the order of 4 to 5 mm.

Brain

Banding resolution of amniotic cell chromosome preparations for prenatal diagnosis.

Fifty consecutive routine female karyotypes of amniotic fluid cells were analyzed to determine: (1) the banding resolution of each metaphase in routine preparations, (2) whether all haploids in the same metaphase had the same level of banding resolution, and (3) which chromosomes showed the least/most variation in regard to banding resolution. For each karyotype, the number of dark bands for each right-hand-side chromosome were counted and compared with an ideogram (ISCN 1985). Banding resolution was separated into three groups: 400-band, 550-band, and 850-band. It was found that all 50 metaphases showed at least a 400-band resolution, and 1 metaphase showed a banding resolution between a 550-band and 850-band level. Although the chromosome preparations were sufficient for routine purposes, additional effort and banding techniques are required to detect small chromosomal abnormalities that require a higher level of resolution.

Amniotic Fluid

Effects of centre-of-rotation shift on contrast and spatial resolution of the SPECT system.

The effects of centre-of-rotation (COR) shift of the rotating camera-based single photon emission commuted tomography (SPECT) system on tomographic images were investigated quantitatively. Contrast and spatial resolution variations as a function of COR shift were measured for all shifts less than 1 pixel, in steps of 0.1 pixels. This region encompasses the typical COR variations. The behaviour of these indices was analysed. In addition, the validity of the limit imposed on the allowable COR shift, as utilized in the current SPECT quality control protocols, was examined. The value of either +/- 0.5 or +/- 0.25 pixels is presently in use as the limit. From this study, both limits result in the loss of resolution. The resolution loss will increase the uncertainties of volume and concentration measurements. For a COR shift of 0.25 pixels, the spatial resolution loss is approximately 5%. This small spatial resolution loss may not affect the qualitative evaluation of tomographic images. However, any loss of resolution should be avoided. For a COR shift of 0.1 pixels, there is no observed loss of resolution. This value should be a desirable choice as the maximum allowable COR shift since it ensures the optimum performance of the SPECT system.

Rotation

Visual resolution of macaque retinal ganglion cells.

1. The visual resolving ability of different types of macaque retinal ganglion cells was estimated at different retinal eccentricities, by measuring the amplitude of modulated responses to black-white gratings of spatial frequencies near the resolution limit for each cell. 2. The resolving ability of tonic, spectrally opponent ganglion cells was usually similar to that of phasic, non-opponent ganglion cells at similar eccentricities, except that at eccentricities greater than 10 deg some tonic ganglion cells with remarkably high resolution (up to ca. 15 cycles/deg) were found. Our cell sample was limited within the central 2 deg of the visual field, however. 3. Only a small proportion of phasic ganglion cells showed an increase of mean firing level to gratings near the resolution limit. The maintained firing of tonic ganglion cells was higher than that of phasic ganglion cells. 4. With red-black or green-black gratings, the resolution of phasic ganglion cells was unaffected. For red or green on-centre ganglion cells, a marked deterioration of resolving ability occurred when the grating was of a colour to which a cell responded poorly (green-black gratings for red on-centre cells, and red-black gratings for green on-centre cells). A slight improvement in resolving ability occurred when the grating was of an excitatory colour. 5. For a sub-sample of cells, we compared resolution limit with centre size as determined from area-threshold curves. For both phasic and tonic ganglion cells, resolution limit (the period length just resolved) was about half the centre diameter, as is the case for cat ganglion cells. This implies that the centre sizes of phasic and tonic monkey ganglion cells are similar at most eccentricities. 6. We attempt to relate these results to primate retinal anatomy and visual resolution, determined behaviourally.

Action Potentials

Intensity and frequency resolution: masking of absolute identification and fixed and roving discrimination.

Auditory intensity and frequency resolution were studied in three paradigms under masking conditions. Absolute identifications of single stimuli (one-interval paradigm) and 2IFC judgments of fixed- and roving-level pairs of stimuli (two-interval paradigm) were obtained from the same experienced observers. Judgments were made under optimal (no mask) conditions, in the presence of a broadband noise mask (simultaneous mask), and when the stimulus(i) to be judged were either preceded (forward mask) or followed (backward mask) by a broadband noise mask. Substantial masking of intensity resolution was found in all mask conditions. Only a simultaneous mask affected frequency resolution. In the no mask condition, performance was best for fixed-level (or frequency) 2IFC discrimination, followed by roving-level (frequency) 2IFC, and finally absolute identification. These differences were maintained under masking for frequency resolution, but not for intensity resolution. The results are discussed in terms of the Braida and Durlach (1988) model of intensity resolution. A similar model is suggested for frequency resolution with differences suggested by the differences in neural coding of sound intensity and frequency.

Auditory Perception

Efficient resolution of replicated poxvirus telomeres to native hairpin structures requires two inverted symmetrical copies of a core target DNA sequence.

The terminal hairpin sequences of the linear double-stranded DNA genome of the leporipoxvirus Shope fibroma virus (SFV) has been cloned in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in recombination-deficient Escherichia coli as a palindromic insert within circular plasmid vectors. This sequence configuration is equivalent to the inverted repeat structure detected as a telomeric replicative intermediate during poxvirus replication in vivo. Previously, it has been shown that when circular plasmids containing this palindromic insert were transfected into SFV-infected cells, efficient replication and resolution generated linear minichromosomes with bona fide viral hairpin termini (A. M. DeLange, M. Reddy, D. Scraba, C. Upton, and G. McFadden, J. Virol. 59:249-259, 1986). To localize the minimal target DNA sequence required for efficient resolution, a series of staggered unidirectional deletions were constructed at both ends of the inverted repeat. Analyses of the resolution efficiencies of the various clones indicate that up to 240 base pairs (bp) centered at the symmetry axis were required for maximal resolution to minichromosomes. To investigate the role of the AT-rich central axis sequences, which in SFV include 8 nonpalindromic bp, a unique AflII site at the symmetry axis was exploited. Bidirectional deletions extending from this AflII site and insertions of synthetic oligonucleotides into one of the deletion derivatives were constructed and tested in vivo. The efficiency with which these plasmids resolved to linear minichromosomes with hairpin termini has enabled us to define the minimal target DNA sequence as two inverted copies of an identical DNA sequence between 58 and 76 bp in length. The nonpalindromic nucleotides, which, after resolution, constitute the extrahelical residues characteristic of native poxviral telomeres, were not required for resolution. The close resemblance of the SFV core target sequence to the analogous region from the orthopoxvirus vaccinia virus is consistent with a conserved mechanism for poxviral telomere resolution.

DNA

Frequency selectivity and temporal resolution in patients with various inner ear disorders.

Both frequency selectivity and temporal resolution were examined in patients with various inner ear disorders. These included noise-induced hearing loss (n = 24), Menière's disease (n = 16), sudden deafness (n = 25), toxic inner ear damage (n = 14), presbyacusis (n = 38) and degenerative progressive inner ear hearing loss (n = 8). To facilitate quantitative comparison, various factors were introduced, namely, frequency resolution factor (FRF), temporal resolution factor (TRF) and a combined resolution factor (FTRF). The FRF of normal-hearing subjects in background noise conditions was found to be approximately 20% less than in comparative test conditions without noise, whereas the TRF of normal-hearing persons tested under background noise conditions showed a remarkable increase (factor 3). The frequency resolution performance and/or the temporal resolution performance were found to be impaired in all patient groups with inner ear hearing loss. This is particularly noticeable for temporal resolution in test conditions involving the addition of background noise. It can be concluded that in such cases, speech discrimination can be seriously jeopardized.

Hearing

Chromosome preparation and high resolution banding techniques. A review.

High resolution banding techniques enable detection of chromosome rearrangements even within major bands. Banded chromosomes prepared for light microscopic studies of intact metaphase plates are, however, highly modified structures compared with native chromosomes, and the high resolution banding techniques only seem possible because the following methods were standardized and combined. The use of colcemid, which prevents formation of the spindle and thereby collects cells at the metaphase-anaphase border, is routinely used for chromosome preparations. For high resolution banding studies, short exposure time and concentrations near the threshold value have been recommended by several authors. Several agents interfere with chromosome contraction processes, but only a few have had a lasting influence on high resolution banding studies. The most used agents are ethidium bromide, actinomycin D, and Hoechst 33258, which all partially inhibit chromosome contraction. Treatment with hypotonic solutions induces swelling of animal cells, and the methanol in the fixative denatures and precipitates protein by dehydration. The acetic acid coagulates nucleoproteins and causes swelling of the cells. The fixative penetrates the cells rapidly and preserves the chromosome structure. To obtain long segmented chromosomes suitable for high resolution banding hypotonic treatment with .075 M KCl, frequent changes of fixative and overnight fixation at 4 degrees C have been recommended. The use of cell synchronization, 5-bromodeoxyuridine incorporation into DNA, and fluorochrome-photolysis Giemsa (FPG)-staining have improved the quality of high resolution banding. Synchronization techniques, which select for lymphocyte populations in early divisions, provide excellent materials for chromosome preparations and induction of high resolution banding. The banding techniques seem to enhance differences already present in the chromosomes, and the differential Giemsa staining has recently been explained by interactions between the hydrophobic dye complex, the supercoiled DNA helix, and the denaturated histone core of the nucleosomes.

Animals

Effect of positron range on spatial resolution.

The effect of beta+ range on spatial resolution of imaging systems employing the detection of 511-keV annihilation radiation was determined by measuring the variation in the line-spread functions (LSFs) of positron-emitting radionuclides of 64Cu, 11C, and 15O as compared with the 514-keV gamma-ray emitter 85Sr. These radionuclides have maximum beta+ energies of 0.656, 0.960, and 1.72 MeV, respectively. The LSFs were measured in a tissue-equivalent phantom with high-resolution (approximately 2.4 mm FWHM) and low-resolution (approximately 8.8 mm FWHM) straightbore collimators coupled to a NaI(Tl) detector. Theoretical LSFs for the beta+ ranges were also calculated and convolved with the 85Sr LSF to yield the predicted LSFs for 11C and 15O. The high-resolution study showed a 0% and 2.3% increase in the full-width half-maximum (FWHM) and full-width tenth-maximum (FWO.1M) for the low-energy beta+ of 64Cu and a 37% (FWHM) and 52% (FWO.1M) increase for the high energy beta+ of 15O as compared with 85Sr. However, when the system resolution was decreased to 8.8 mm FWHM, the 64Cu showed no change at FWHM or FWO.1M and the 15O showed a 2.3% (FWHM) and 7.8% (FWO.1M) relative to 85Sr. The predicted LSFs were in good agreement with the experimental. These data indicate that the effect of beta+ range on spatial resolution is minimal unless the beta+ energy is larger than or equal to 1.5 MeV and the system resolution is on the order of a few millimeters.

Carbon Radioisotopes