Respiratory Motion Reduction in PET/CT Using Abdominal Compression for Lung Cancer Patients

Purpose

Respiratory motion causes substantial artifacts in reconstructed PET images when using helical CT as the attenuation map in PET/CT imaging. In this study, we aimed to reduce the respiratory artifacts in PET/CT images of patients with lung tumors using an abdominal compression device.

Methods

Twelve patients with lung cancer located in the middle or lower lobe of the lung were recruited. The patients were injected with 370 MBq of ¹⁸F-FDG. During PET, the patients assumed two bed positions for 1.5 min/bed. After conducting free-breathing imaging, we obtained images of the patients with abdominal compression by applying the same setup used in the free-breathing scan. The differences in the standardized uptake value (SUV)_max, SUV_mean, tumor volume, and the centroid of the tumors between PET and various CT schemes were measured.

Results

The SUV_max and SUV_mean derived from PET/CT imaging using an abdominal compression device increased for all the lesions, compared with those obtained using the conventional approach. The percentage increases were 18.1% ±14% and 17% ±16.8% for SUV_max and SUV_mean, respectively. PET/CT imaging combined with abdominal compression generally reduced the tumor mismatch between CT and the corresponding attenuation corrected PET images, with an average decrease of 1.9±1.7 mm over all the cases.

Conclusions

PET/CT imaging combined with abdominal compression reduces respiratory artifacts and PET/CT misregistration, and enhances quantitative SUV in tumor. Abdominal compression is easy to set up and is an effective method used in PET/CT imaging for clinical oncology, especially in the thoracic region.     

Automation of clip localization in Digital Tomosynthesis for setup of breast cancer patients

The objective of this study is to develop an automatic clip localization procedure for breast cancer patient setup based on Digital Tomosynthesis (DTS) and to characterize its performance with respect to the overall registration accuracy and robustness. The study was performed under an IRB-approved protocol for 12 breast cancer patients with surgical clips implanted around the tumor cavity. The registration of DTS images to planning CTs was performed using an automatic algorithm developed to overcome specific challenges of localization and registration of clips in the breast setup images. The automatic method consisted of auto-segmentation (intensity-based thresholding with a priori knowledge about clip size and location to distinguish clips from bony features) and auto-registration of the segmented clip clusters. To determine the inherent accuracy and robustness of the registration algorithm, additional simulated DTS data was analyzed. The developed algorithm is efficient in removing false positives and negatives and provides an accuracy of better than 2.3 mm for 60° and 3.3 mm for 40° DTS. When incorporated in clinical software, this algorithm helps to facilitate fast and accurate setup evaluation with minimal dose delivered to patients.     

Evaluation of Four Commercial Multiplex Molecular Tests for the Diagnosis of Acute Respiratory Infections

Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. Documentation of respiratory specimens can help for an appropriate clinical management with a significant effect on the disease progress in patient, the antimicrobial therapy used and the risk of secondary spread of infection. Here, we compared the performances of four commercial multiplex kits used in French University Hospital diagnostic microbiology laboratories for the detection of ARI pathogens (i.e., the xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel Fast, RespiFinder SMART 22, CLART PneumoVir and Fast Track Diagnostics Respiratory Pathogen 33 kits). We used a standardised nucleic acids extraction protocol and a comprehensive comparative approach that mixed reference to well established real-time PCR detection techniques and analysis of convergent positive results. We tested 166 respiratory clinical samples and identified a global high degree of correlation for at least three of the techniques (xTAG, RespiFinder and FTD33). For these techniques, the highest Youden’s index (YI), positive predictive (PPV) and specificity (Sp) values were observed for Core tests (e.g., influenza A [YI:0.86–1.00; PPV:78.95–100.00; Sp:97.32–100.00] & B [YI:0.44–1.00; PPV:100.00; Sp:100.00], hRSV [YI:0.50–0.99; PPV:85.71–100.00; Sp:99.38–100.00], hMPV [YI:0.71–1.00; PPV:83.33–100.00; Sp:99.37–100.00], EV/hRV [YI:0.62–0.82; PPV:93.33–100.00; Sp:94.48–100.00], AdV [YI:1.00; PPV:100.00; Sp:100.00] and hBoV [YI:0.20–0.80; PPV:57.14–100.00; Sp:98.14–100.00]). The present study completed an overview of the multiplex techniques available for the diagnosis of acute respiratory infections.     

A Four Dimensional Spatio-Temporal Analysis of an Agricultural Dataset

While a variety of statistical models now exist for the spatio-temporal analysis of two-dimensional (surface) data collected over time, there are few published examples of analogous models for the spatial analysis of data taken over four dimensions: latitude, longitude, height or depth, and time. When taking account of the autocorrelation of data within and between dimensions, the notion of closeness often differs for each of the dimensions. Here, we consider a number of approaches to the analysis of such a dataset, which arises from an agricultural experiment exploring the impact of different cropping systems on soil moisture. The proposed models vary in their representation of the spatial correlation in the data, the assumed temporal pattern and choice of conditional autoregressive (CAR) and other priors. In terms of the substantive question, we find that response cropping is generally more effective than long fallow cropping in reducing soil moisture at the depths considered (100 cm to 220 cm). Thus, if we wish to reduce the possibility of deep drainage and increased groundwater salinity, the recommended cropping system is response cropping.     

四眼斑龟消化、呼吸系统的解剖

解剖测量了 8只成年四眼斑龟的消化系统和呼吸系统 ,结果表明 :消化管总长 ( 6 0 4 3± 99.2 )mm ,为背甲长的 3 75～ 5 77倍。舌不能伸缩 ;食管扩展性强 ;胃呈囊状 ,被肝叶覆盖 ;小肠较长 ,为消化的主要场所 ,约占消化道总长的 4 8% ;盲肠不发达。肝较大 ,重约 ( 14 12± 8 2 4 )g ,分左、中、右三叶 ,占体重的 6 %左右 ,绿色胆囊位于右叶小肝内 ;胰腺长条形 ,分布于十二指肠肠系膜内。肺长囊形 ,内壁有复杂的间隔 ,把内腔分隔成蜂窝状小室 ,紧贴在背甲的内表面 ,位于肩带和腰带之间 ;气管较长 ,由 6 5～ 85个软骨环连接而成 ;支气管较短 ,由 30～ 4 0个软骨环连接而成     

乳腺三维断层技术结合乳腺超声对致密型乳腺病变的诊断价值

摘要 目的：探讨乳腺三维断层技术（DBT）结合乳腺超声(BUS)对致密型乳腺病变的诊断价值。方法：回顾分析2018年6月至2019年4月在我院就诊且有完整病理结果的149例致密型乳腺病变患者的影像资料,对比DBT、BUS两种检查方法的检出率;以病理结果为金标准,分析DBT、BUS、DBT联合BUS三种检查模式的诊断效能。结果：BUS对良性病变的检出率（97.87%）高于DBT（89.36%）,差异有统计学意义（x²=5.697,P＜0.05）;DBT与BUS对恶性病变的检出率分别为98.44%、95.31%,差异无统计学意义（x²=1.032,P>0.05）。DBT诊断致密型乳腺病变的敏感度为90.61%、特异度为93.55％、准确率为91.77％,BUS诊断致密型乳腺病变的敏感度为78.13%、特异度为89.36%、准确率为84.81%,DBT联合BUS诊断致密型乳腺病变的敏感度为95.31%、特异度为95.74%、准确率为95.57%。DBT联合BUS诊断致密型乳腺恶性病变的受试者工作特征曲线（ROC）的曲线下面积（AUC）为0.977,稍高于DBT的AUC（0.951）,明显高于BUS的AUC（0.885）。结论：BUS对良性病变的检出率显著高于DBT,DBT对致密型乳腺病变的诊断效能高于BUS,二者结合能提高病变的检出率与诊断效能。     

利用PHI数据进行区域性植物生理信息探测与分析

本次试验研究选择两个实验区 :沼泽地和植被茂盛区。利用 2 0 0 0年 9月上旬在黑龙江省大兴安岭地区获取的推帚式超光谱成像 ,(PHI,pushbroomhyperspectralimager)数据进行区域性植物生理量 (主要是叶绿素 )的探测与生态分析。在叶绿素含量探测中 ,结合所获取的成像光谱PHI数据的特点 ,在比较不同技术方法的基础之上 ,选用了有效而简单可靠的RARS(Ratioanalysisofreflectancespectra)指数。该色素指数与植物叶绿素a、b含量拟合的相关系数 (R)达 0 .8以上。利用PHI数据和野外实测植物光谱分别建立沼泽地和植被茂盛区的RARS指数模式 ,分别得到具有指示两试验区的叶绿素a (Chla)、叶绿素b (Chlb)以及类胡萝卜素 (Cars)的参数图像。更进一步地利用Blackburn(1998)所建立的RARS指数与叶绿素浓度之间的强拟合方程 ,相对定量估算了叶绿素a、b浓度的区域性分布 ,清晰地反映出植被生态状况和差异。这与野外实地考察较为一致。     

Motion Tracker: Camera-Based Monitoring of Bodily Movements Using Motion Silhouettes

Researchers in the cognitive and affective sciences investigate how thoughts and feelings are reflected in the bodily response systems including peripheral physiology, facial features, and body movements. One specific question along this line of research is how cognition and affect are manifested in the dynamics of general body movements. Progress in this area can be accelerated by inexpensive, non-intrusive, portable, scalable, and easy to calibrate movement tracking systems. Towards this end, this paper presents and validates Motion Tracker, a simple yet effective software program that uses established computer vision techniques to estimate the amount a person moves from a video of the person engaged in a task (available for download from http://jakory.com/motion-tracker/). The system works with any commercially available camera and with existing videos, thereby affording inexpensive, non-intrusive, and potentially portable and scalable estimation of body movement. Strong between-subject correlations were obtained between Motion Tracker’s estimates of movement and body movements recorded from the seat (r =.720) and back (r = .695 for participants with higher back movement) of a chair affixed with pressure-sensors while completing a 32-minute computerized task (Study 1). Within-subject cross-correlations were also strong for both the seat (r =.606) and back (r = .507). In Study 2, between-subject correlations between Motion Tracker’s movement estimates and movements recorded from an accelerometer worn on the wrist were also strong (rs = .801, .679, and .681) while people performed three brief actions (e.g., waving). Finally, in Study 3 the within-subject cross-correlation was high (r = .855) when Motion Tracker’s estimates were correlated with the movement of a person’s head as tracked with a Kinect while the person was seated at a desk (Study 3). Best-practice recommendations, limitations, and planned extensions of the system are discussed.     

Visualisation of Respiratory Tumour Motion and Co-Moving Isodose Lines in the Context of Respiratory Gating,IMRT and Flattening-Filter-Free Beams

Respiratory motion during percutaneous radiotherapy can be considered based on respiration-correlated computed tomography (4DCT). However, most treatment planning systems perform the dose calculation based on a single primary CT data set, even though cine mode displays may allow for a visualisation of the complete breathing cycle. This might create the mistaken impression that the dose distribution were independent of tumour motion. We present a movie visualisation technique with the aim to direct attention to the fact that the dose distribution migrates to some degree with the tumour and discuss consequences for gated treatment, IMRT plans and flattening-filter-free beams. This is a feasibility test for a visualisation of tumour and isodose motion. Ten respiratory phases are distinguished on the CT, and the dose distribution from a stationary IMRT plan is calculated on each phase, to be integrated into a movie of tumour and dose motion during breathing. For one example patient out of the sample of five lesions, the plan is compared with a gated treatment plan with respect to tumour coverage and lung sparing. The interplay-effect for small segments in the IMRT plan is estimated. While the high dose rate, together with the cone-shaped beam profile, makes the use of flattening-filter-free beams more problematic for conformal and IMRT treatment, it can be the option of choice if gated treatment is preferred. The different effects of respiratory motion, dose build-up and beam properties (segments and flatness) for gated vs. un-gated treatment can best be considered if planning is performed on the full 4DCT data set, which may be an incentive for future developments of treatment planning systems.     

Improved and Robust Detection of Cell Nuclei from Four Dimensional Fluorescence Images

Segmentation-free direct methods are quite efficient for automated nuclei extraction from high dimensional images. A few such methods do exist but most of them do not ensure algorithmic robustness to parameter and noise variations. In this research, we propose a method based on multiscale adaptive filtering for efficient and robust detection of nuclei centroids from four dimensional (4D) fluorescence images. A temporal feedback mechanism is employed between the enhancement and the initial detection steps of a typical direct method. We estimate the minimum and maximum nuclei diameters from the previous frame and feed back them as filter lengths for multiscale enhancement of the current frame. A radial intensity-gradient function is optimized at positions of initial centroids to estimate all nuclei diameters. This procedure continues for processing subsequent images in the sequence. Above mechanism thus ensures proper enhancement by automated estimation of major parameters. This brings robustness and safeguards the system against additive noises and effects from wrong parameters. Later, the method and its single-scale variant are simplified for further reduction of parameters. The proposed method is then extended for nuclei volume segmentation. The same optimization technique is applied to final centroid positions of the enhanced image and the estimated diameters are projected onto the binary candidate regions to segment nuclei volumes.Our method is finally integrated with a simple sequential tracking approach to establish nuclear trajectories in the 4D space. Experimental evaluations with five image-sequences (each having 271 3D sequential images) corresponding to five different mouse embryos show promising performances of our methods in terms of nuclear detection, segmentation, and tracking. A detail analysis with a sub-sequence of 101 3D images from an embryo reveals that the proposed method can improve the nuclei detection accuracy by 9 over the previous methods, which used inappropriate large valued parameters. Results also confirm that the proposed method and its variants achieve high detection accuracies ( 98 mean F-measure) irrespective of the large variations of filter parameters and noise levels.     

机械通气救治4例银环蛇咬伤急性呼吸衰竭

目的 探讨机械通气救治银环蛇咬伤致急性呼吸衰竭的治疗效果。方法 院前正确清创急救处理,及时行机械通气救治4例银环蛇咬伤致急性呼吸衰竭患者。结果 气管内插管是最佳的气道开放方法,气管插管者辅助通气4～6h后撤机及拔管可获得成功。结论 正确急救和清创,气管内插管及机械通气是救治银环蛇咬伤致急性呼吸衰竭的最有效的方法。     

Performance Characterization of Watson Ahumada Motion Detector Using Random Dot Rotary Motion Stimuli

The performance of Watson & Ahumada''s model of human visual motion sensing is compared against human psychophysical performance. The stimulus consists of random dots undergoing rotary motion, displayed in a circular annulus. The model matches psychophysical observer performance with respect to most parameters. It is able to replicate some key psychophysical findings such as invariance of observer performance to dot density in the display, and decrease of observer performance with frame duration of the display.Associated with the concept of rotary motion is the notion of a center about which rotation occurs. One might think that for accurate estimation of rotary motion in the display, this center must be accurately known. A simple vector analysis reveals that this need not be the case. Numerical simulations confirm this result, and may explain the position invariance of MST(d) cells. Position invariance is the experimental finding that rotary motion sensitive cells are insensitive to where in their receptive field rotation occurs.When all the dots in the display are randomly drawn from a uniform distribution, illusory rotary motion is perceived. This case was investigated by Rose & Blake previously, who termed the illusory rotary motion the omega effect. Two important experimental findings are reported concerning this effect. First, although the display of random dots evokes perception of rotary motion, the direction of motion perceived does not depend on what dot pattern is shown. Second, the time interval between spontaneous flips in perceived direction is lognormally distributed (mode≈2 s). These findings suggest the omega effect fits in the category of a typical bistable illusion, and therefore the processes that give rise to this illusion may be the same processes that underlie much of other bistable phenomenon.     

Photosynthetic and Respiratory Acclimation to Experimental Warming for Four Species in a Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem

Global temperature has been Increased by 0.6 ℃ over the past century and is predicted to Increase by 1.4-5.8 ℃ by the end of this century. It is unclear what impacts global warming will have on tallgrass species. In the present study, we examined leaf net photosynthetic rate （P.） and leaf respiration rate in darkness （Rd） of Aster erlcoldes （L.） Nesom, Ambrosia psllostachya DC., Helianthus mollis Lam., and Sorghastrum nutans （L.） Nash In response to experimental warming in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the Great Plains, USA, in the autumn （fall） of 2000 and through 2001. Warming has been Implemented with infrared heaters since 21 November 1999. The P. increased significantly In spring, decreased in early fall, and did not change in summer and late fall in the four species under warming compared with control. The Rd of the four species increased significantly until mid-summer and then did not change under warming. Measured temperature-response curves of P. showed that warming Increased the optimum temperature of P. （Topt） by 2.32 and 4.59 ℃ for H. mollis and S. nutans, respectively, in August, whereas there were no changes in May and September, and A. ericoldes and A. psllostachya also showed no changes in any of the 3 months. However, P. at optimum temperature （Popt） showed downregulation in September and no regulation in May and August for all four species. The temperature-response curves of Rd Illustrate that the temperature sensitivity of Rd, Q10, was lower in the warmed plots compared with the control plots, except for A. ericoides in August, whereas there were no changes In May and September for all four species. The results of the present study indicate that photosynthetic and respiratory acclimation varies with species and among seasons, occurring In the mid-growing season and not in the early and late growing seasons.     

Evaluation of Breathing Pattern: Comparison of a Manual Assessment of Respiratory Motion (MARM) and Respiratory Induction Plethysmography

Altered breathing pattern is an aspect of dysfunctional breathing but few standardised techniques exist to evaluate it. This study investigates a technique for evaluating and quantifying breathing pattern, called the Manual Assessment of Respiratory Motion (MARM) and compares it to measures performed with Respiratory Induction Plethysmography (RIP). About 12 subjects altered their breathing and posture while 2 examiners assessed their breathing using the MARM. Simultaneous measurements with RIP were taken. Inter-examiner agreement and agreement between MARM and RIP were assessed. The ability of the measurement methods to differentiate between diverse breathing and postural patterns was compared. High levels of agreement between examiners were found with the MARM for measures of the upper rib cage relative to lower rib cage/abdomen motion during breathing but not for measures of volume. The measures of upper rib cage dominance during breathing correlated with similar measures obtained from RIP. Both RIP and MARM measures methods were able to differentiate between abdominal and thoracic breathing patterns, but only MARM was able to differentiate between breathing changes occurring as result of slumped versus erect sitting posture. This study suggests that the MARM is a reliable clinical tool for assessing breathing pattern.     

碱裂解法提取重组质粒DNA及PCR验证

目的:筛选获得高质量质粒,为进一步克隆、测序奠定基础.方法:采用常规的碱裂解法从大肠杆菌重组质粒中提取质粒DNA,核酸检测仪测定提取质粒DNA产量和纯度,并用前期DDRT-PCR时采用的引物进行PCR验证性实验,琼脂糖凝胶电泳检测,并对电泳图谱加以分析和鉴定.结果:利用常规的碱裂解法提取重组质粒,通过酚和氯仿的抽提,可以有效地去除蛋白质杂质,用含有Rnase抑制剂的无菌水溶解质粒提取效果最好,得到的质粒DNA无RNA污染,纯度比较高,OD260/OD280比值介于1.8～2.0之间,OD260/OD230比值大于2.0,经PCR反应验证后与预计相符.结论:通过该方法获得的重组质粒纯度和浓度都比较高,且PCR验证与预计相一致,可以满足后续分子生物学实验的要求.