Image features in medical vibro-acoustography: in vitro and in vivo results

Vibro-acoustography is an imaging method based on audio-frequency harmonic vibrations induced in the object by the radiation force of focused ultrasound. The purpose of this study is to investigate features of vibro-acoustography images and manifestation of various tissue structures and calcifications in such images. Our motivation for this study is to pave the way for further in vitro and in vivo applications of vibro-acoustography. Here, vibro-acoustography images of excised prostate and in vivo breast are presented and compared with images obtained with other modalities. Resulting vibro-acoustography images obtained with a 3 MHz ultrasound transducer and at a vibration frequency of 50-60 kHz show soft tissue structures, tissue borders, and microcalcifications with high contrast, high resolution, and no speckle. It is concluded that vibro-acoustography offers features that may be valuable for diagnostic purposes.     

Granular phase transition as a precondition for segregation

Experimental results are presented on the segregation of a mixture of spheres with two different sizes, rolling on a circularly vibrating table. Beyond a critical density of particles a demixing occurs leading to a clustering of the larger ones. A monodisperse layer of spheres shows a liquid-solid-like phase transition at a slightly lower critical density. These critical particle densities are both found to be independent of the driving frequency, but decrease with increasing vibration amplitude.     

Multiple Image Method for the Two Conductor Spheres in a Uniform Electrostatic Field

A method using multiple mirror images of point charges is put forward to analyze the polarization of two identical conductor spheres in a uniform electrostatic field. By use of the method, the electric field distribution and the interaction force between two spheres can be calculated accurately even for very small gap between two spheres. Our results show that the magnitude of the product of the gap between two spheres and the local electric field in the center of the gap is approximately in the same order and the interaction between two spheres increases very fast as the two spheres are close to each other. We also show that the interaction force between two conductor spheres is almost same with that between two dielectric spheres with high permittivity.     

High resolution image reconstruction method for a double-plane PET system with changeable spacing

Breast-dedicated positron emission tomography(PET) imaging techniques have been developed in recent years. Their capacities to detect millimeter-sized breast tumors have been the subject of many studies. Some of them have been confirmed with good results in clinical applications. With regard to biopsy application, a double-plane detector arrangement is practicable, as it offers the convenience of breast immobilization. However, the serious blurring effect of the double-plane PET, with changeable spacing for different breast sizes, should be studied. We investigated a high resolution reconstruction method applicable for a double-plane PET. The distance between the detector planes is changeable. Geometric and blurring components were calculated in real-time for different detector distances, and accurate geometric sensitivity was obtained with a new tube area model. Resolution recovery was achieved by estimating blurring effects derived from simulated single gamma response information. The results showed that the new geometric modeling gave a more finite and smooth sensitivity weight in the double-plane PET.The blurring component yielded contrast recovery levels that could not be reached without blurring modeling, and improved visual recovery of the smallest spheres and better delineation of the structures in the reconstructed images were achieved with the blurring component. Statistical noise had lower variance at the voxel level with blurring modeling at matched resolution, compared to without blurring modeling. In distance-changeable double-plane PET,finite resolution modeling during reconstruction achieved resolution recovery, without noise amplification.     

DDA simulations of light scattering by small irregular particles with various structure

We present DDA investigations of light scattering by irregular particles whose size is comparable with wavelength. We consider four types of randomly irregular particles: strongly damaged spheres, rough-surface spheres, pocked spheres, and agglomerated debris particles. Each type of particle is generated with a well defined algorithm producing an ensemble of stochastically different particles that have a common origin. The different types of irregular particles produce different angular dependencies of intensity and linear polarization degree. Transformation of phase curves of intensity and polarization with changing size parameter for irregular particles tends to be more monotonic, unlike spheres. We find that the magnitude of the negative polarization branch (NPB) tends to shrink as particle absorption increases; whereas, the maximal value and position of the positive polarization branch tends to increase. The most frequently observed shape of the negative polarization at small phase angles is asymmetric with a shift of the minimum position towards the angle of polarization sign inversion. All types of considered irregular particles reveal such asymmetry at x<10. Symmetric negative polarization branches occur seldom. The necessary conditions for their appearance are a relatively large size parameter x?10 to 12 and low absorption.     

The effect of physiological noise in phase functional magnetic resonance imaging: from blood oxygen level-dependent effects to direct detection of neuronal currents

Recently, the possibility to use both magnitude and phase image sets for the statistical evaluation of fMRI has been proposed, with the prospective of increasing both statistical power and the spatial specificity. In the present work, several issues that affect the spatial and temporal stability in fMRI phase time series in the presence of physiologic noise processes are reviewed, discussed and illustrated by experiments performed at 3 T. The observed phase value is a fingerprint of the underlying voxel averaged magnetic field variations. Those related to physiological processes can be considered static or dynamic in relation to the temporal scale of a 2D acquisition and will play out on different spatial scales as well: globally across the entire images slice, and locally depending on the constituents and their relative fractions inside the MRI voxel. The 'static' respiration-induced effects lead to magneto-mechanic scan-to-scan variations in the global magnetic field but may also contribute to local BOLD fluctuations due to respiration-related variations in arterial carbon dioxide. Likewise, the 'dynamic' cardiac-related effects will lead to global susceptibility effects caused by pulsatile motion of the brain as well as local blood pressure-related changes in BOLD and changes in blood flow velocity. Finally, subject motion may lead to variations in both local and global tissue susceptibility that will be especially pronounced close to air cavities. Since dissimilar manifestations of physiological processes can be expected in phase and in magnitude images, a direct relationship between phase and magnitude scan-to-scan fluctuations cannot be assumed a priori. Therefore three different models were defined for the phase stability, each dependent on the relation between phase and magnitude variations and the best will depend on the underlying noise processes. By experiments on healthy volunteers at rest, we showed that phase stability depends on the type of post-processing and can be improved by reducing the low-frequency respiration-induced mechano-magnetic effects. Although the manifestations of physiological noise were in general more pronounced in phase than in magnitude images, due to phase wraps and global Bo effects, we suggest that a phase stability similar to that found in magnitude could theoretically be achieved by adequate correction methods. Moreover, as suggested by our experimental data regarding BOLD-related phase effects, phase stability could even supersede magnitude stability in voxels covering dense microvascular networks with BOLD-related fluctuations as the dominant noise contributor. In the interest of the quality of both BOLD-based and nc-MRI methods, future studies are required to find alternative methods that can improve phase stability, designed to match the temporal and spatial scale of the underlying neuronal activity.     

Two-dimensional melting far from equilibrium in a granular monolayer

We report an experimental investigation of the transition from a hexagonally ordered solid phase to a disordered liquid in a monolayer of vibrated spheres. The transition occurs as the intensity of the vibration amplitude is increased. Measurements of the density of dislocations and the positional and orientational correlation functions show evidence for a dislocation-mediated continuous transition from a solid phase with long-range order to a liquid with only short-range order. The results show a strong similarity to simulations of melting of hard disks in equilibrium, despite the fact that the granular monolayer is far from equilibrium due to the effects of interparticle dissipation and the vibrational forcing.     

Investigating the absolute phase information in acoustic wave resonance scattering

The aim of this work is to investigate the absolute phase information in resonance acoustic scattering by spheres and cylinders and place this work in the broader context of scattering in which the properties of the magnitude and (processed) phase have been examined in a more general way than in the classical resonance scattering theory (RST). Here, comparisons are made between the classical and modified RST formalisms of acoustic resonance scattering. Experimental and theoretical backscattering form functions are obtained and discussed. It is shown that the magnitude and processed (unwrapped) phase can be correctly obtained through the classical RST, suggesting that the modified RST formalism offers little new practical advantage. Furthermore, the absolute phase is shown to be very sensitive to object’s resonances, suggesting that the unwrapped phase may be considered as an efficient tool, along with the magnitude information, to carry out remote (active) classification of targets in underwater acoustics applications. The combination of absolute phase information with the magnitude data offers a complementary advantage in the identification of resonances from cylinders and spheres.     

Talbot Images of an Array Source with Correlated Phase Fluctuation Using the Propagation Law of a Gaussian Beam

Talbot images of a two-dimensional array source such as a surface-emitting array laser are investigated with the help of the propagation law of a Gaussian beam. The effect of the phase fluctuation existing between the elements of the source on the formation of Talbot images is revealed by computer simulation. In the study, the correlation extent of the phase fluctuation is taken into consideration together with its magnitude (standard deviation), and Talbot images of good quality are found to be formed when the correlation extent is larger than the extent of the diffraction of a Gaussian beam in the observation plane. It is further shown that the contrast of Talbot images is governed, in a statistical sense, not by the magnitude of the phase itself but by the phase-fluctuation slope in the array source.     

Application of improved Speckle contouring technique to surface roughness measurements

One of the well known drawbacks in Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) is the poor fringe density due to electronic and speckle noise and decreasing fringe visibility with increasing speckle decorrelation. As recently reported we suggested improving the fringe density and enlarging the measurement range by the incremental addition of phase images. The technique has already been successfully applied to in-plane and out-of-plane displacement field measurements of carbon-fibre reinforced composites. This paper demonstrates how the technique can be used to improve the sensitivity and to extend the measurement range for speckle contouring applications. The angular correlation of the speckle phase images is used to get the desired 3D information of the investigated object surface. It is demonstrated how the angular speckle contouring techinque can easily be automated with respect, for example, to possible industrial applications. Roughness measurements are carried out on milled Rugo test surfaces. All measurements are performed without the usual vibration isolation, and of course, without the treatment of the surface with fine, white powder for contrast enhancement, which would falsify the results.     

A wavelet-based method for improving signal-to-noise ratio and contrast in MR images

Magnetic resonance (MR) images acquired with fast measurement often display poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast. With the advent of high temporal resolution imaging, there is a growing need to remove these noise artifacts. The noise in magnitude MR images is signal-dependent (Rician), whereas most de-noising algorithms assume additive Gaussian (white) noise. However, the Rician distribution only looks Gaussian at high SNR. Some recent work by Nowak employs a wavelet-based method for de-noising the square magnitude images, and explicitly takes into account the Rician nature of the noise distribution. In this article, we apply a wavelet de-noising algorithm directly to the complex image obtained as the Fourier transform of the raw k-space two-channel (real and imaginary) data. By retaining the complex image, we are able to de-noise not only magnitude images but also phase images. A multiscale (complex) wavelet-domain Wiener-type filter is derived. The algorithm preserves edges better when the Haar wavelet rather than smoother wavelets, such as those of Daubechies, are used. The algorithm was tested on a simulated image to which various levels of noise were added, on several EPI image sequences, each of different SNR, and on a pair of low SNR MR micro-images acquired using gradient echo and spin echo sequences. For the simulated data, the original image could be well recovered even for high values of noise (SNR approximately 0 dB), suggesting that the present algorithm may provide better recovery of the contrast than Nowak's method. The mean-square error, bias, and variance are computed for the simulated images. Over a range of amounts of added noise, the present method is shown to give smaller bias than when using a soft threshold, and smaller variance than a hard threshold; in general, it provides a better bias-variance balance than either hard or soft threshold methods. For the EPI (MR) images, contrast improvements of up to 8% (for SNR = 33 dB) were found. In general, the improvement in contrast was greater the lower the original SNR, for example, up to 50% contrast improvement for SNR of about 20 dB in micro-imaging. Applications of the algorithm to the segmentation of medical images, to micro-imaging and angiography (where the correct preservation of phase is important for flow encoding to be possible), as well as to de-noising time series of functional MR images, are discussed.     

HREM of the [111] surfaces of iron oxide nanoparticles

Mixed phase Fe3O4-gamma-Fe2O3 (magnetite-maghemite) iron oxide nanoparticles have been fabricated by colloidal routes. HRTEM/HRSTEM images of the nanoparticles show the presence of [111] facets that terminate with enhanced contrast, which is shown to be caused by the presence of additional cations at the edges of the nanoparticles. HRTEM images were taken on a FEI CM200 FEGTEM, a JEOL 3100 with a LaB6 source, and a double aberration corrected JEOL-JEM 2200FS FEGTEM. The enhanced contrast effect was observed on the [111] surface atomic layers resolved using each machine. HRSTEM images, taken on an aberration corrected STEM, resolved enhanced contrast at specific surface sites. Exit wave reconstruction was also carried out on focal series taken on a double aberration corrected JEOL-JEM 2200FS and showed similar highly resolved enhanced contrast at specific surface cation sites. It is apparent that additional cations are occupying the [111] terminating layers of these nanoparticle surfaces. The use of different microscopes and techniques in this paper provides strong evidence that the enhanced contrast is a real effect and not an effect caused by microscope aberrations.     

Phase behavior of binary hard-sphere mixtures from perturbation theory

Using a first-order perturbation theory, we have studied the phase diagram of a binary mixture of hard spheres for different values of the size ratio. Recent models for the two-body depletion potential between large spheres are used to take into account the role of the small spheres. The theory predicts a complex phase diagram including a fluid-solid transition at high packing fraction of small spheres, metastability of fluid-fluid demixing, an isostructural solid-solid transition at high packing fraction of the large spheres for sufficiently small values of the size ratio q of the spheres, and the tendency to sticky-sphere behavior in the limit q-->0. The agreement with recent simulation results is quite good. We also show that this phenomenology was already implicit in the pioneering work of Asakura and Oosawa.     

X射线菲涅耳波带板成像和投影式相衬成像的数值模拟比较

通过解析分析和数值模拟,比较了钛K线（4.5 keV）与铜K线（8.0 keV）等X射线源背光透视物体情况下,菲涅耳波带板直接成像与投影式相衬成像对被透视物体的空间分辨能力。结果表明,波带板成像可实现优于1 m的高空间分辨能力,而且使用较大尺度背光源更有利于成像。对于高透射或弱吸收的透视物体,波带板难以成像,可采用投影式相衬成像实现m级空间分辨。计入了以前文献没有考虑到的更高阶影响后,解析给出了点光源照射下相衬像的强度分布与对比度。模拟了微焦点X射线源照射存在厚度起伏的薄膜靶以及密度空间调制靶的相衬成像,点光源情况下模拟结果和解析结果相符。讨论了光源大小、成像距离等参数对相衬成像对比度和空间分辨能力的影响,结果表明,通过减小光源尺度和调节物体到探测面的距离,空间分辨能力可优化到1～4 m。     

Quantitative phase retrieval in X‐ray Zernike phase contrast microscopy

In recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to X‐ray phase contrast imaging, since it can provide high‐contrast images by using phase variations. Among the different existing techniques, Zernike phase contrast microscopy is one of the most popular phase‐sensitive techniques for investigating the fine structure of the sample at high spatial resolution. In X‐ray Zernike phase contrast microscopy, the image contrast is indeed a mixture of absorption and phase contrast. Therefore, this technique just provides qualitative information on the object, which makes the interpretation of the image difficult. In this contribution, an approach is proposed for quantitative phase retrieval in X‐ray Zernike phase contrast microscopy. By shifting the phase of the direct light by π/2 and 3π/2, two images of the same object are measured successively. The phase information of the object can then be quantitatively retrieved by a proper combination of the measured images. Numerical experiments were carried out and the results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed method. It is expected that the proposed method will find widespread applications in biology, materials science and so on.     

Complementarity

As a painter I produce works that use heightened colour and as an important part of the composition I place complementary colours in different arrangements to produce optical effects resulting in local vibration or enhancement. But why do complementary colours have such a mutual effect? This paper discusses how complementarity occurs with reference to afterimages and simultaneous contrast including aspects of the neurophysiology of the eye and brain, the overlaying of images by retinal afterimages, the possible occurrence of involuntary saccades when viewing juxtaposed complementaries and an experimental study of the transmission spectra of images and their afterimages. Also included is a discussion of the use of complementaries in paintings.     

Energy transfer rate in double-layer graphene systems: Linear regime

We theoretically investigate the energy transfer phenomenon in a double-layer graphene (DLG) system. We use the balance equation approach in linear regime and random phase approximation screening function to obtain energy transfer rates at different electron temperatures, densities and interlayer spacings. We find that the rate of energy transfer in the DLG is qualitatively similar to that obtained in the double-layer two-dimensional electron gas but its values are an order of magnitude greater. Also, at large electron temperature differences between two graphene layers, the electron density dependence of energy transfer is significantly different, particularly in case of unequal electron densities.     

Dislocations jam at any density

Crystalline materials deform in an intermittent way via dislocation-slip avalanches. Below a critical stress, the dislocations are jammed within their glide plane due to long-range elastic interactions and the material exhibits plastic response, while above this critical stress the dislocations are mobile (the unjammed phase) and the material flows. We use dislocation dynamics and scaling arguments in two dimensions to show that the critical stress grows with the square root of the dislocation density. Consequently, dislocations jam at any density, in contrast with granular materials, which only jam below a critical density.     

X射线相衬成像法在线表征冷冻靶技术

阐述了冷冻靶类球面物体X射线相衬成像机理;Tracepro软件模拟研究证明了X射线相衬成像法能用于冷冻靶燃料层参数的表征;研制了在线表征冷冻靶的X射线相衬成像实验装置,利用该装置开展了二乙烯基苯泡沫球壳及实际氘氘冷冻靶的X射线相衬成像实验研究,获得了玻璃微球内氘氘冷冻层X射线相衬图像,成像分辨力达1.5 m;利用X射线相衬成像法可同时表征烧蚀球壳及冷冻燃料层,为惯性约束聚变实验提供冷冻靶参数。     

Time reversal for a single spherical scatterer.

We show that the time reversal operator for a planar time reversal mirror (TRM) can have up to four distinct eigenvalues with a small spherical acoustic scatterer. Each eigenstate represents a resonance between the TRM and an induced scattering moment of the sphere. Their amplitude distributions on the TRM are orthogonal superpositions of the radiation patterns from a monopole and up to three orthogonal dipoles. The induced monopole moment is associated with the compressibility contrast between the sphere and the medium, while the dipole moments are associated with density contrast. The number of eigenstates is related to the number of orthogonal orientations of each induced multipole. For hard spheres (glass, metals) the contribution of the monopole moment to the eigenvalues is much greater than that of the dipole moments, leading to a single dominant eigenvalue. The other eigenvalues are much smaller, making it unlikely multiple eigenvalues could have been observed in previous experiments using hard materials. However, for soft materials such as wood, plastic, or air bubbles the eigenvalues are comparable in magnitude and should be observable. The presence of multiple eigenstates breaks the one-to-one correspondence between eigenstates and distinguishable scatterers discussed previously by Prada and Fink [Wave Motion 20, 151-163 (1994)]. However, eigenfunctions from separate scatterers would have different phases for their eigenfunctions, potentially restoring the ability to distinguish separate scatterers. Since relative magnitudes of the eigenvalues for a single scatterer are governed by the ratio of the compressibility contrast to the density contrast, measurement of the eigenvalue spectrum would provide information on the composition of the scatterer.