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An algorithm for automatic analysis of portal images: clinical evaluation for prostate treatments.

The aim of this study is to assess the clinical value of an algorithm for automatic analysis of portal images by measuring the method's performance in a clinical study of treatment of prostate cancer. The algorithm is based on chamfer matching and measures displacements of patients relative to prescribed radiation beam positions. In this paper we propose a method to quantify the mean standard deviation (MSD) of the performance of automatic analysis relative to the MSD of the performance of trained radiographers using the clinical data set only, i.e. without using additional phantoms or simulations. The clinical data set in this study consists of 99 regional AP prostate images of 15 different patients. To assess the performance the automatic analysis in relation to that of the human observers, we studied the results of the unsupervised automatic analysis, as well as the results of a less-trained human observer and a well-trained human observer assisted by the automatic analysis (in this combination, automatic analysis is done first and the result is modified by the well-trained observer if the observer does not agree). First, the intra-observer variations of the well-trained observer are measured by repetitive analysis of a small subset of the clinical data. The distribution of differences in analysis between two arbitrary observers is described by the chi 2 distribution, and is tabulated in literature. We define the agreement histogram of an observer O as an estimator for the chi 2 distribution between O and the well-trained human observer, parameterized by the ratio of the intra-observer variations of O and the well-trained observer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Algorithms↗

Utility of new electrocardiographic models for left ventricular mass in older adults. The Cardiovascular Health Study Collaborative Research Group.

Several multivariate statistical models have recently been introduced for estimation of left ventricular mass from standard 12-lead electrocardiographic measurements. The validity of these algorithms has not been adequately evaluated. The objective of this investigation was to compare the associations between echocardiographic and electrocardiographic left ventricular mass values with clinical and subclinical indexes of coronary heart disease. The evaluation was performed with participants of the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based sample of 5201 men and women aged 65 years and older. Echocardiographic M-mode measurements of left ventricular mass were performed from videotape recordings with the use of a strictly standardized protocol. Electrocardiographic algorithms of the Novacode program and new algorithms derived from the Cardiovascular Health Study population were used for left ventricular mass prediction. Echocardiographic and electrocardiographic determinations of left ventricular mass were technically successful in 3410 (65.6%) and 5013 (96.4%) participants, respectively. The Novacode model overestimated echocardiographic left ventricular mass. Compared with the Novacode model, the new Cardiovascular Health Study electrocardiographic model, which includes adjustment for body weight, eliminated left ventricular mass prediction bias and improved the correlation between echocardiographic and electrocardiographic left ventricular mass from .33 to .54 in women and from .46 to .51 in men. Echocardiographic and electrocardiographic models both demonstrated similar and about equally strong associations with overt and subclinical disease and with risk factors for left ventricular hypertrophy. These observations demonstrate the potential utility of electrocardiographic models for left ventricular mass estimation.

Age Factors↗

A novel local PCA-based method for detecting activation signals in fMRI.

A novel local principal component analysis (LPCA) technique is presented for activation signal detection in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) without explicit knowledge about the shape of the model activation signal. Unlike the traditional PCA methods, our LPCA algorithm is based on a measure of separation between two clusters formed by the signal segments in active periods and inactive periods, which is computed in an eigen-subspace. In addition, we only applied PCA to the temporal sequence of each individual voxel instead of applying PCA to the fMRI data set. In our algorithm, we first applied a linear regression procedure to alleviate the baseline drift artifact. Then, the baseline-corrected temporal signals were partitioned into active and inactive segments according to the paradigm used for the fMRI data acquisition. Principal components were computed from all these segments for each voxel by PCA. By projecting the segments of each voxel onto a linear subspace formed by the corresponding most dominant principal components, two separate clusters were formed from active and inactive segments. An activation measure was defined based on the degree of separation between these two clusters in the projection space. We show experimental results on the activation signal detection from various sets of fMRI data with different types of stimulation by using the proposed LPCA algorithm and the standard t-test method for comparison. Our experiments indicate that the LPCA algorithm in general provides substantial signal-to-noise ratio improvement over the t-test method.

Algorithms↗

Metric learning for text documents.

Many algorithms in machine learning rely on being given a good distance metric over the input space. Rather than using a default metric such as the Euclidean metric, it is desirable to obtain a metric based on the provided data. We consider the problem of learning a Riemannian metric associated with a given differentiable manifold and a set of points. Our approach to the problem involves choosing a metric from a parametric family that is based on maximizing the inverse volume of a given data set of points. From a statistical perspective, it is related to maximum likelihood under a model that assigns probabilities inversely proportional to the Riemannian volume element. We discuss in detail learning a metric on the multinomial simplex where the metric candidates are pull-back metrics of the Fisher information under a Lie group of transformations. When applied to text document classification the resulting geodesic distance resemble, but outperform, the tfidf cosine similarity measure.

Algorithms↗

Accuracy and precision of CT angiography in a model of carotid artery bifurcation stenosis.

PURPOSE: To determine optimal acquisition parameters and measurement techniques for CT angiography of the carotid bifurcation. METHODS: Anatomic phantoms were created in which the diameter of the carotid artery stenoses ranged from 15% to 95%. Initially, we compared the accuracy of stenosis determination obtained by using various values of section collimation and table pitch. Subsequently, applying the combination of collimation and pitch that yielded the greatest longitudinal coverage without degradation in accuracy, we compared the accuracy of measurements performed with various display algorithms, including axial, magnified axial, maximum intensity projection (MIP), and shaded surface display (SSD) images. Last, we determined the effect on accuracy of varying both window and level settings. The standard of reference for all measurements was considered to be caliper measurements made of the models at the time of their construction. RESULTS: CT angiography was highly accurate for determining the percentage of stenosis; the average difference between CT angiographic measurements and the standard of reference was less than 1% for all parameter combinations and measurement techniques. Precision varied among the measurement techniques. Magnified axial images provided more precise measurements than either the MIP or SSD images. Although there was a trend toward improved precision with the use of magnified versus unmagnified axial images and MIP versus SSD images, neither of these comparisons reached statistical significance. Systematic error was produced by changing the level setting from that halfway between the luminal density and vessel wall density. Random error was introduced by using window settings greater than zero. CONCLUSION: CT angiography was highly accurate and precise for determining percentage of stenosis. The highest precision was attained by using magnified axial images with the level halfway between luminal density and vessel wall density and with the window set to zero.

Carotid Arteries↗

Half-scan and single-plane intensity diffraction tomography for phase objects.

A reconstruction theory for intensity diffraction tomography (I-DT) has been proposed that permits reconstruction of a weakly scattering object without explicit knowledge of phase information. In this work, we examine the application of I-DT, using either planar- or spherical-wave incident wavefields, for imaging three-dimensional (3D) phase objects. We develop and investigate two algorithms for reconstructing phase objects that utilize only half of the measurements that would be needed to reconstruct a complex-valued object function. Each reconstruction algorithm reconstructs the phase object by use of different sets of intensity measurements. Although the developed reconstruction algorithms are equivalent mathematically, we demonstrate that their numerical and noise propagation properties differ considerably. We implement numerically the reconstruction algorithms and present reconstructed images to demonstrate their use and to corroborate our theoretical assertions.

Algorithms↗

Subchondral bone and cartilage thickness from MRI: effects of chemical-shift artifact.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the modality of choice for visualizing and quantifying articular cartilage thickness. However, difficulties persist in MRI of subchondral bone using spoiled gradient-echo (SPGR) and other gradient-echo sequences, primarily due to the effects of chemical-shift artifact. Fat suppression techniques are often used to reduce these artifacts, but they prevent measurement of bone thickness. In this report, we assess the magnitude of chemical-shift effects (phase-cancellation and misregistration artifacts) on subchondral bone and cartilage thickness measurements in human femoral heads using a variety of pulse sequence parameters. Phase-cancellation effects were quantified by comparing measurements from in-phase images (TE=13.5 ms) to out-of-phase images (TE=15.8 ms). We also tested the assumption of the optimal in-phase TE by comparing thickness measures at small variations on TE (13.0, 13.5 and 14.0 ms). Misregistration effects were quantified by comparing measurements from water+fat images (water-only+fat-only images) to the measurements from in-phase (TE=13.5) images. A correction algorithm was developed and applied to the in-phase measurements and then compared to measurements from water+fat images. We also compared thickness measurements at different image resolutions. Results showed that both phase-cancellation artifact and misregistration artifact were significant for bone thickness measurement, but not for cartilage thickness measurement. Using an in-phase TE and correction algorithm for misregistration artifact, the errors in bone thickness relative to water+fat images were non-significant. This information may be useful for developing pulse sequences for optimal imaging of both cartilage and subchondral bone.

Adipose Tissue↗

Physiological time-series analysis: what does regularity quantify?

Approximate entropy (ApEn) is a recently developed statistic quantifying regularity and complexity that appears to have potential application to a wide variety of physiological and clinical time-series data. The focus here is to provide a better understanding of ApEn to facilitate its proper utilization, application, and interpretation. After giving the formal mathematical description of ApEn, we provide a multistep description of the algorithm as applied to two contrasting clinical heart rate data sets. We discuss algorithm implementation and interpretation and introduce a general mathematical hypothesis of the dynamics of a wide class of diseases, indicating the utility of ApEn to test this hypothesis. We indicate the relationship of ApEn to variability measures, the Fourier spectrum, and algorithms motivated by study of chaotic dynamics. We discuss further mathematical properties of ApEn, including the choice of input parameters, statistical issues, and modeling considerations, and we conclude with a section on caveats to ensure correct ApEn utilization.

Algorithms↗

Multivariate curve resolution applied to infrared reflection measurements of soil contaminated with an organophosphorus analyte.

Multivariate curve resolution (MCR) is a powerful technique for extracting chemical information from measured spectra of complex mixtures. A modified MCR technique that utilized both measured and second-derivative spectra to account for observed sample-to-sample variability attributable to changes in soil reflectivity was used to estimate the spectrum of dibutyl phosphate (DBP) adsorbed on two different soil types. This algorithm was applied directly to measurements of reflection spectra of soils coated with analyte without resorting to soil preparations such as grinding or dilution in potassium bromide. The results provided interpretable spectra that can be used to guide strategies for detection and classification of organic analytes adsorbed on soil. Comparisons to the neat DBP liquid spectrum showed that the recovered analyte spectra from both soils showed spectral features from methyl, methylene, hydroxyl, and P=O functional groups, but most conspicuous was the absence of the strong PO-(CH2)3CH3 stretch absorption at 1033 cm(-1). These results are consistent with those obtained previously using extended multiplicative scatter correction.

Algorithms↗

Algebraic reconstruction for 3D magnetic resonance-electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) using one component of magnetic flux density.

Magnetic resonance-electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) algorithms fall into two categories: those utilizing internal current density and those utilizing only one component of measured magnetic flux density. The latter group of algorithms have the advantage that the object does not have to be rotated in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. A new algorithm which uses only one component of measured magnetic flux density is developed. In this method, the imaging problem is formulated as the solution of a non-linear matrix equation which is solved iteratively to reconstruct resistivity. Numerical simulations are performed to test the algorithm both for noise-free and noisy cases. The uniqueness of the solution is monitored by looking at the singular value behavior of the matrix and it is shown that at least two current injection profiles are necessary. The method is also modified to handle region-of-interest reconstructions. In particular it is shown that, if the image of a certain xy-slice is sought for, then it suffices to measure the z-component of magnetic flux density up to a distance above and below that slice. The method is robust and has good convergence behavior for the simulation phantoms used.

Electric Impedance↗

[Comparison of film-screen combinations with contrast detail diagram and interactive image analysis. 2: Linear assessment of grey scale ranges with interactive image analysis].

The following three screen-film combinations were compared: a) a combination of anticrossover film and UV-light emitting screens, b) a combination of blue-light emitting screens and film, and c) a conventional green fluorescing screen-film combination. Radiographs of a specially designed plexiglass phantom (0.2 x 0.2 x 0.12 m3) with bar patterns of lead and plaster and of air, respectively were obtained using the following parameters: 12 pulse generator, 0.6 mm focus size, 4.7 mm aluminum pre-filter, a grid with 40 lines/cm (12:1) and a focus-detector distance of 1.15 m. Image analysis was performed using an IBAS system and a Zeiss Kontron computer. Display conditions were the following: display distance 0.12 m, a vario film objective 35/70 (Zeiss), a video camera tube with a PbO photocathode, 625 lines (Siemens Heimann), an IBAS image matrix of 512 x 512 pixels with a resolution of 7 lines/mm, the projected matrix area was 5000 microns2. Grey scale ranges were measured on a line perpendicular to the grouped bar patterns. The difference between the maximum and minimum density value served as signal. The spatial resolution of the detector system was measured when the signal value was three times higher than the standard deviation of the means of multiple density measurements. The results showed considerable advantages of the two new screen-film combinations as compared to the conventional screen-film combination. The result was contradictory to the findings with pure visual assessment of thresholds (part I) that had found no differences. The authors concluded that (automatic) interactive image analysis algorithms serve as an objective measure and are specifically advantageous when small differences in image quality are to be evaluated.

Algorithms↗

Passive remote monitoring of chemical vapors by differential Fourier-transform infrared radiometry: results at a range of 1.5 km.

A method for the passive remote monitoring of chemical vapors by differential Fourier-transform infrared radiometry is presented to determine the characteristics of a chemical vapor plume from a stack located at a distance of more than 1 km from the sensor. This measurement technique is based on the use of a double-beam Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer that is optimized for optical subtraction. A description of the interferometer (compact atmospheric sounding interferometer) is given along with the algorithm (GASEM) that has been developed for the on-line detection, identification, and quantification of chemical vapor plumes. The detection method is described with a particular emphasis placed on its monitoring capabilities. The analysis focuses on the experimental results obtained at a recent open-air experiment for vapor plume mixtures of dimethyl methyl phosphonate and SF6 probed at a distance of 1.5 km. The accuracy of a simplified plume radiance model implemented in the detection algorithm is specifically addressed. The measurement technique has been successfully used to detect and identify low, medium, and high concentrations of vapor mixtures but appears to have limited quantification capabilities in its present form.

Journal Article↗

Fault location of two-parallel transmission line for double phase-to-earth fault using one-terminal data.

An accurate algorithm for fault location of double phase-to-earth fault on transmission line of direct ground neutral system is presented. The algorithm, which employs the faulted phase network and zero-sequence network as fault-location model in which the source impedance at the remote end is not involved, effectively eliminates the effect of load flow and fault resistance on the accuracy of fault location. The algorithm achieves accurate location by measuring only one local end data and is used in a procedure that provides automatic determination of faulted types and phases, and does not require the engineer to specify them. Simulation results showed the effectiveness of the algorithm under the condition of double phase-to-earth fault.

Algorithms↗

A wavelet-packets based algorithm for EEG signal compression.

Transmission of biomedical signals through communication channels is being used increasingly in clinical practice. This technique requires dealing with large volumes of information, and the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal is an example of this situation. In the EEG, various channels are recorded during several hours, resulting in a great demand of storage capacity or channel bandwidth. This situation demands the use of efficient data compression systems. The objective of this work was to develop an efficient algorithm for EEG lossy compression. In this algorithm, the EEG signal is segmented and then decomposed through Wavelet Packets (WP). The WP decomposition coefficients are thresholded and those having absolute values below the threshold are deleted. The remaining coefficients are appropriately quantized and coded using a run-length coding scheme. The compressed EEG signal can be recovered by an inverse process. Extensive experimental tests were made by applying the algorithm to EEG records and measuring the compression rate (CR) and the distortion in signal segments. The WP transform showed a high robustness, allowing a reasonably low distortion after a compression-decompression process, for CR typically in the range 5-8. The algorithm has a relatively low computational cost, making it appropriate for practical applications.

Algorithms↗

Corneal ablation profilometry and steep central islands.

BACKGROUND: Photorefractive keratectomy with large diameter ablations using a uniform laser beam has produced central undercorrections, or "steep central islands" in patients, as seen with videokeratography. METHODS: Using a custom optical profilometer to measure corneal ablation profiles and a VISX excimer laser system, we measured the effect of ablation algorithms, diameter, depth, and dioptric correction on enucleated porcine eyes and living rabbit eyes. Our profilometer was verified using a 43.00 diopter (D) spherical surface and a 35.00 and 43.00 D bicurve test surface as a model for the ablated cornea. RESULTS: The profilometer measured the test surfaces to within 3 microns of predicted values. Photorefractive keratectomies showed over-ablation peripherally and under-ablation centrally which increased with ablation diameter and dioptric correction. Fixed diameter ablations 2 to 6 mm in diameter and 10 to 80 microns deep showed stromal ablation rates vary spatially but not with ablation depth. These spatially variant ablation profiles were used to re-engineer the ablation algorithm and to produce photorefractive keratectomies with improved sphericity. CONCLUSIONS: Steep central islands are caused by the spatial variance of tissue ablated with a uniform laser beam irradiance. This aberration can be corrected by modifying the laser ablation algorithm to correct for the spatial variance of stromal ablation.

Algorithms↗

Use of immunoglobulin heavy-chain and light-chain measurements in a multicenter trial to investigate monoclonal components: II. Classification by use of computer-based algorithms.

We describe a computer algorithm for classifying serum monoclonal proteins (MC) based on serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and the automated measurement of kappa and lambda light chains and IgG, IgA, and IgM. We developed the algorithm by using a large database of unselected samples containing MC collected in a multicenter study. The performance of the algorithm was optimized by using iterative computational procedures and was tested on both the development database and on an independent set of MC-containing samples. With the development database, the algorithm correctly classified 50% and misassigned 2.5% of the MC. Where the MC were present in concentrations greater than 10 g/L, the rate of successful classification increased to 72% with 3% misclassification. When the algorithm was tested on a group of 101 MC-containing samples from an independent source, 67% were correctly classified and 8% misclassified, half of the latter being unusual IgD myelomas. We discuss the scope for the application of the algorithm in routine laboratory practice involving personal computer software.

Algorithms↗

Magnetic resonance imaging measurements of bone density and cross-sectional geometry.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used in the assessment of the musculoskeletal system and associated pathology. The ability of MRI to measure the signals from water and lipid protons enables quantitative measurements of bone porosity. The goal of this investigation was to demonstrate that the density and cross-sectional geometry of whole bones can be noninvasively measured using MRI. Ten trabecular specimens cored from whale vertebrae were used to compare apparent bone density measured directly, and using a quantitative MRI algorithm. Bone density and several cross-sectional geometric properties were also measured using MRI in the distal tibia of 14 volunteers. The MRI measurements were compared with measurements made using quantitative-computed tomography (QCT). A proton density sequence was used for all MRI studies. A porosity phantom was included in the MRI examinations and used to convert the MRI signal intensity to bone volume fraction. Bone density and cross-sectional bone geometry were calculated from the bone volume fractions by assuming constant tissue properties. The apparent density of trabecular bone cores measured directly and using quantitative MRI were linearly related (r(2) = 0.959; P < 0. 01). A strong linear relation also existed between MRI and QCT measurements of ash density (r(2) = 0.923; P < 0.01) and cross-sectional geometric properties (r(2) = 0.976-0.992; P < 0.01). MRI data can be used to measure bone density and cross-sectional geometry of whole bones if a proton density sequence is used to homogenize differences in marrow composition and a porosity phantom is used for slice-specific volume fraction calibration.

Adult↗